Why Does Go\'s `time.Parse()` Misinterpret Timezone Identifiers and How Can I Fix It?

Why time.Parse() doesn't parse the timezone identifier

When parsing a time string, Go's time.Parse() attempts to interpret any included timezone identifier based on the current location. If the timezone is unknown, Parse() assumes it's in a fabricated location with the given abbreviation and zero offset.

Consider the following code snippet:

const format = "2006 01 02 15:04 MST"
date := "2018 08 01 12:00 EDT"
tn, _ := time.Parse(format, date)

Here, we define a layout format and parse a date string that includes the timezone identifier "EDT". However, when we print the parsed time, we get:

2018-08-01 12:00:00 +0000 EDT

Notice that the time zone is shown as " 0000 EDT" despite EDT being a daylight savings time zone with an offset of -0400 from UTC.

This happens because Parse() relies on the current system location, which might not recognize the "EDT" abbreviation. Instead, it interprets it as an unknown zone and assigns a zero offset.

To avoid this issue, we can either:

1. Use a time layout that explicitly specifies the timezone offset:

const format = "2006 01 02 15:04 -0400"
tn, _ := time.Parse(format, date)

2. Use ParseInLocation() to specify the desired timezone:

aloc, _ := time.LoadLocation("America/New_York")
tn, _ := time.ParseInLocation(format, date, aloc)

By using these techniques, we ensure that the timezone information is correctly interpreted and the parsed time reflects the intended offset accurately.

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