ADR 3: Represent datetime in UTC

Status

proposed

Context

Local time is not adequate for representing time on a server. A server could be in a different timezone as the consumer, but a consistent reference time is needed.

Decision

Time is stored in UTC This can be accomplished via datetime2 in the database. If only a date is needed, a date-centric type such as 'date' in SQL will suffice.

The API returns the value in UTC ISO 8601

Consequences

Log aggregation can use UTC to ease correlation.

A consumer may translate the returned ISO 8601 to local time as needed.