Tidstandard

Tidstandard is an open standard for representing and exchanging time-related data among software systems and services. It provides a consistent framework for time instants, intervals, durations, and time zones to enable reliable time synchronization, accurate logging, and robust event correlation across heterogeneous platforms.

The tidstandard data model distinguishes time instants (points on the time axis) from time intervals, and defines units such as seconds and subsecond fractions. It specifies a canonical string representation aligned with ISO 8601, with optional high-precision fractional seconds and explicit time zone information or offset. It also offers guidance for calendar rules, leap seconds, and daylight saving time handling where applicable, with clear semantics for ambiguity.

Serializations defined by tidstandard include a human-readable canonical form and a binary encoding for low-bandwidth scenarios. The canonical form emphasizes interoperability and compatibility with existing standards such as ISO 8601 and RFC 3339. JSON and XML representations are supported via formal schemas, and a compact binary format called TidBin is provided for efficient storage and transport.

Governance and adoption: Tidstandard is maintained by a multi-stakeholder steering committee and dedicated working groups on time formats, validation, and interoperability. Since its initial release in the mid-2020s, it has seen uptake in cloud platforms, logging pipelines, financial systems, and industrial automation where synchronized time stamps are critical.

See also: ISO 8601, RFC 3339, Unix time, time zone, leap second.