Mind the geekConference50min
Fixing time zones for fun - twenty programming puzzles to master internationalization.
This talk reviews 20 internationalization puzzles on i18n-puzzles.com, tackling advanced time zone and Unicode challenges. It analyzes diverse solutions submitted by 300+ programmers worldwide, explores language-specific approaches in Java, JavaScript, and more, and uses real code examples to make complex i18n topics engaging and accessible.
Martijn van IerselTOPdesk
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Room 9
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Time zone and encoding problems are often seen as annoying or frustrating. To make this topic fun & interesting, I created i18n-puzzles.com, inspired by the famous Advent of Code. After all, which programmer can resist a good puzzle?
During an online event in March 2025, I published twenty puzzles day after day. The puzzles start easy, but quickly dive into more advanced topics that will challenge even experienced programmers. Find treasure with a UTF-8 validator, fix a financial scam by parsing right-to-left text, or install parallel versions of the time zone database to solve a science problem.
Over 300 programmers from around the world competed. Now it’s time to look back and analyze the code they wrote. What are the best solutions? Are there any differences between programming languages in how they tackle internationalization?
During this talk, I will talk through advanced topics related to Time Zones and Unicode, using code examples in Java, JavaScript, and other programming languages.
During an online event in March 2025, I published twenty puzzles day after day. The puzzles start easy, but quickly dive into more advanced topics that will challenge even experienced programmers. Find treasure with a UTF-8 validator, fix a financial scam by parsing right-to-left text, or install parallel versions of the time zone database to solve a science problem.
Over 300 programmers from around the world competed. Now it’s time to look back and analyze the code they wrote. What are the best solutions? Are there any differences between programming languages in how they tackle internationalization?
During this talk, I will talk through advanced topics related to Time Zones and Unicode, using code examples in Java, JavaScript, and other programming languages.
Martijn van Iersel
Martijn works as software engineer at TOPdesk, where he is also responsible for the internal training program for fresh developers. Martijn takes an interest in computing, games, and education, and is always looking for ways to combine the three: using games for educating programmers. Martijn started his career in research, and obtained a PhD in Bioinformatics at Maastricht University. In more recent years, he switched from theory to practice, and develops software at a company. In his spare time, Martijn hosts game jams, and develops an educational game for biology classrooms.