Re: timestamp and timestamptz

What is the exact format of the timestamp in the CSV? As long as it is in a
"fully qualified" format, i.e. includes the time-zone offset, then you will
have no problem as the data represents a point in time.

It is easier to conceptualize "time stamp with time zone" (timestamptz) as
actually representing a "point in time". If your client is set to CET then
the data will display as desired.

-Steve

On Wed, Apr 15, 2020 at 10:50 AM Niels Jespersen <NJN(at)dst(dot)dk> wrote:

> Hello all
>
>
>
> We have some data that have entered a timestamp column from a csv. The
> data in the csv are in utc. We want to access the data in our native
> timezone (CET).
>
>
>
> I am considering a few alternatives:
>
>
>
> 1. Early in the process, convert to timestamptz and keep this
> datatype.
>
> 2. Early in the process, convert to timestamp as understood in
> CET. This will imply by convention that the data in the timestamp column
> represents CET. Users will need to be told that data represents CET, even
> if data is somwhere in the future kept in another country in another
> timezone.
>
>
>
> I probably should choose 1 over 2. But I am a bit hesitant, probably
> because we almost never have used timestamptz.
>
>
>
> Can we agree that the below query is selecting both the original utc
> timestamps and 2 and 1 (as decribed above)?
>
>
>
> set timezone to 'cet';
>
> select read_time read_time_utc, (read_time at time zone 'utc')::timestamp
> read_time_cet, (read_time at time zone 'utc')::timestamptz read_time_tz
> from t limit 10;
>
>
>
> We are on Postgres 12.
>
>
>
> Regards Niels Jespersen
>