Lots of the wacky stuff came from the original dream of a purely 16-bit code, and then more wacky stuff to extend it from there. I.e., starting from UTF-8 could have avoided any amount of unpleasantness. But of course UTF-8 wasn't invented until later. The 16-bit representation got encrusted in OSes and languages of a certain period.
The same goes, of course, for writing systems, going back to the first, that we would all do differently in hindsight.
Even today we are making apparently sensible choices we (or our digital successors) will regret as deeply.
ISO 8601 looks good now, but it only delays the transition to a rational calendar which, admittedly, we would certainly get wrong if we tried codifying one today.
Fortunately daylight saving time will be gone worldwide before the next decade passes, but not without some places getting stuck at the wrong timezone. (E.g. Portugal different from Spain, and probably Indiana different from itself.)
Indiana doesn't have special time zones any more. It allows individual counties to choose which standard zone to be in but they all observe the normal DST.
The same goes, of course, for writing systems, going back to the first, that we would all do differently in hindsight.
Even today we are making apparently sensible choices we (or our digital successors) will regret as deeply.
ISO 8601 looks good now, but it only delays the transition to a rational calendar which, admittedly, we would certainly get wrong if we tried codifying one today.
Fortunately daylight saving time will be gone worldwide before the next decade passes, but not without some places getting stuck at the wrong timezone. (E.g. Portugal different from Spain, and probably Indiana different from itself.)