Import: Y-Groups - Time Zone Offset for NY

[JayF]

-----Original Message-----
From: Katrina
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 10:58 PM
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: [eSignal] Re: Time Zone Offset for NY


For those interested,

I wrote a little routine which tells us how far offset NY is from UTC, and it allows for DST. Using this routine, you can check to see if the NY markets are open no matter where in the world you live or what time zone you are in. I enclose it in case it might be of use to others. I know I would like to see it as a standard function in eSignal.

Example use for an auto-trade system:

var vToday = new Date();
var vOffset = getNYOffset();
var vHours = vToday.getUTCHours();
var vMinutes = vToday.getUTCMinutes();
var vNYTime = ((vHours*60)+vMinutes)-vOffset;

// Check to see if it's between 9:30am and 4:00pm in NY
if(vNYTime >= 570 && vNYTime <= 960)
{
    // Insert trade code here
} 

The above is just a demonstration of how it might be used. Obviously, it's mostly useful for checking if the market is open. Anyone who lives in an area where the Daylight Savings Time is not co-ordinated with NY is going to need a routine like this if they are writing auto-trade systems.

I'm pretty sure the getNYOffset() function is bug free, and I tested it against a number of key dates to make sure it works properly. But use it at your own risk. I know it will get confused for a few hours when the DST switches over at 2am in the morning, but that does not concern me as I have no intention of trading during those few hours and it will have corrected itself by 5am.

Cheers,
Katrina.

[JayF]

Here's the attachment.