GB/T 32656-2016 in English

Standard Overview

GB/T 32656-2016 Calendar and Schedule Data Format is a national standard proposed by the National Information Technology Standardization Technical Committee, which specifies the structured data format of electronic calendar and schedule information. This standard uses XML as the basic data carrier and is applicable to the development of schedule management functions of various information systems.

Core structure analysis

Key technical elements

1. Time representation specification

The ISO 8601 standard time format (YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss) is used, and time zone identification (such as TZ="+08:00") is supported. The time period element DT_PERIOD defines the time range through the DT_START and DT_END attributes.

2. Repeating rules (RRULE)

Support five repeating modes:

• Daily rule: Starting with D, such as "D2#10" means repeating 10 times every 2 days
• Weekly rule: Starting with W, such as "W1MO,WE" means repeating every Monday and Wednesday
• Monthly rule: MP/MD type, such as "MP1+FR" means the first Friday of every month
• Yearly rule: YM/YD type, such as "YM6,7" means June and July every year
• Specific date: Starting with TD, you can specify an irregular date

Typical application scenarios

 <G_TODO> <TITLE>Quarterly Sales Meeting</TITLE> <DT_PERIOD DT_START="2023-03-15T14:00:00" DT_END="2023-03-15T16:00:00">7200</DT_PERIOD> <CATEGORIES Name="Meeting">Sales Analysis</CATEGORIES> <RRULE>YM3#4</RRULE> <!-- Repeat 4 times each quarter--> <PARTICIPANT> <PERSON APPELLATION="Director" TEL="13800138000">Manager Zhang</PERSON> </PARTICIPANT> </G_TODO>

Standard Implementation Recommendations

1. Character set support: The system must be compatible with the GB18030 character set to ensure correct processing of Chinese information
2. Time zone processing: All time data should be associated with time zone information to avoid cross-time zone synchronization issues
3. Extension mechanism: Custom field extension is implemented through the EXT element to maintain standard compatibility
4. Status management: Standardize the use of STATUS elements (0-6) to track the schedule life cycle

Technology Evolution Analysis

This standard refers to the iCalendar (RFC 5545) international standard. The main innovations include:

• Add Chinese-specific elements such as the category naming of CATEGORIES
• Optimize repetition rule expressions to support local needs such as lunar calendar dates
• Define a standardized template mechanism (TEMPLATE) to improve applicability in professional fields such as medical care