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PODisplay accurate local time on web site?
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copied!<p>I've been asked to display the 'correct' time on our website which I frankly feel is rather pointless as 'correct' can be interpretted in such a variety of ways.</p> <p>Our current method definately results in an inaccurate time as it uses a server control rendering JavaScript that runs onload using the datetime from the server as a parameter to create a clock object in JavaScript that finally renders on the page and then starts incrementing the clock. Between the server processing, network latency and client-side performance (there's plenty other stuff running onload) the clock ends up way off the actual server time and who knows compared to the client PC.</p> <p>So to get the 'correct' time shown I could;</p> <ul> <li>Use local PC time and pass new Date() to the JavaScript clock object. Pros: Should be as close to the PC clock as possible. Cons: Not sure how accurate the PC clock is let alone in which timezone.</li> <li>Use web service for TCP request to NTP server to update clock on web page. Pros: If local PC also sync'd to NTP will be accurate and best possible match. Cons: Will have to handle all the timezone adjustments relative to our servers. If PC clock is out will still have mismatch.</li> </ul> <p>Do I implement my own web service or use something like; <a href="http://www.earthtools.org/webservices.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Earth Tools</a> or World Time Web Service (<strong>EDIT:</strong> link removed - now 404)</p> <p>Here's a blog post from <a href="http://weblogs.asp.net/jgalloway/archive/2004/04/08/110029.aspx" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Jon Galloway on Atomic Clock Web Service</a> which is pretty old and yet ranks high when I google and he doesn't reach a conclusion.</p> <p>Hoepfully I can win the argument with management why syncing to our server clock (GMT) doesn't makes sense if your not in that timezone and why we even need to match a local PC.</p> <p>Any angles on this I'm missing?</p>

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