{
  "id": 15529046,
  "title": "Event Timestamps Need Units, Not Guesswork",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/event-timestamps-need-units-not-guesswork",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-19T01:04:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/sensorflow/event-timestamps-need-units-not-guesswork-24ea"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The article emphasizes the importance of specifying timestamp units in event data to avoid confusion and errors in interpretation. It highlights that event timestamps can be valid JSON but may still be ambiguous regarding whether they represent seconds or milliseconds. The author suggests that a contract should be established for timestamp units, such as using a field with a defined unit like `occurred_at_ms` or a versioned source contract that explicitly declares the unit. By converting the timestamp to a single unit at the boundary and validating the normalized value, the system can ensure accurate interpretation. The article provides a Node.js example demonstrating how to implement this validation process, emphasizing the need for explicit conversion checks and rejecting non-numeric or fractional values.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}