Re: [Ntp] comments on draft-mlichvar-ntp-ntpv5-03 / Message Format

[Miroslav Lichvar <[e-mail]>]

On Thu, Nov 25, 2021 at 09:18:38PM -0600, Dan Drown wrote:
> Oh, and another thing I've seen people mess up is which sign means which
> clock is faster.  The time formats specify:
> 
> * "it is the TAI-UTC offset"
> * "it is the UT1-UTC offset"
> * "it is the current offset between the leap smeared time and UTC"
> 
> Maybe these need to be reworded to be more explicit and follow the same
> phrasing? Something like
> 
> * "it is TAI minus UTC"
> * "it is UT1 minus UTC"
> * "it is the leap smeared time minus UTC"

I'd like to keep the word "offset" there. Maybe the explanation can be
added in parenthesis like this?

      *  In the UTC (0) and TAI (1) timescales it is the TAI-UTC offset
         (TAI minus UTC) as a signed integer, or 0x8000 if unknown.

      *  In the UT1 timescale (2) it is the UT1-UTC offset (UT1 minus
         UTC) using the time16 type (0x8000 if unknown).

      *  In the leap-smeared UTC, it is the current offset between the
         leap smeared time and UTC (former minus latter) using the
         time16 type (0x8000 if unknown).

-- 
Miroslav Lichvar