Time zone perspective
Oracle cloud database instances use UTC date and time references by default. Although it is strongly recommended to use UTC to simplify time zone management, shifts, and calculations and avoid data conversions, users can change the base time zone reference in the cloud console or by using APIs.
The standard usage of UTC arises from ISO 8601, which covers time zone management by using the values offset from UTC for local values.
When dealing with a complex system accessed across regions and multiple time zones, the server and client perspectives will inevitably need to be distinguished. The server, like the client, can be located anywhere in the world. However, the locations themselves are important for the correct determination of time zones and transformations between them. Thanks to that, it is possible to obtain and process time from the client’s point of view, as well as the server’s. Consequently, all values are linked to the time zone...