How to figure out which, if any, update changed /etc/localtime from a link to a hard file?

[David M. Karr]

NoOp wrote:
> On 04/17/2009 09:59 AM, David M. Karr wrote:
>> NoOp wrote:
> 
>>> Which version of tzdata-java do you have installed?
>>>
>>> http://packages.ubuntu.com/search?searchon=names&keywords=tzdata
>>> http://packages.ubuntu.com/intrepid-updates/tzdata-java
>>> https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/tzdata
>> I have version 2009a.
>>
>>> The most recent updata for intrepid was:
>>>
>>> 2009f-0ubuntu0.8.10
>>> Published in intrepid-proposed on 2009-04-16
>>> tzdata (2009f-0ubuntu0.8.10) intrepid-proposed; urgency=low
>>>   * New timezone data 2009f: (LP: #358232):
>>>     - Fix DST rules for Jordan, Palestine, and Pakistan.
>>>  -- Martin Pitt <email address hidden>   Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:41:46 +0200
>> That was, like, yesterday. :)
>>
>> I don't see that it matters, however.  It seems pretty clear the tzdata 
>> for my timezone is perfectly fine, but the algorithm used to find the 
>> data was broken by the fact that /etc/localtime wasn't a symlink.  I 
>> verified that fixing this problem fixed the problem on multiple JVMs, 
>> even ones that I hadn't even run the 2009a tzdata on.
>>
>>
> 
> How did you find the problem? It might be helpful to others if you can
> provide a link/ref in case someone else runs into the same in the future.

The thread I started on c.l.j.p has some info about this: 
<http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.java.programmer/browse_thread/thread/dfa4f1e81bf06bc0/12da6b3f321c64d9#12da6b3f321c64d9>

> Interesting; none of my systems (hardy & intrepid) have /etc/localtime
> symlinked. Now, usr/share/zoneinfo/localtime is a symlink *back* to
> /etc/localtime.

Even stranger.