The sections are broken down as follows:
| CST6CDT | The timezone of and if DST is used in this TZ | ||
| CST | Central Standard Time | ||
| 6 | The (hour) offset from GMT/UTC | ||
| CDT | Central Daylight Time | ||
| M3.2.0/2:00:00 | The time when DST begins (when we shift) | ||
| M3 | The third month (March) | ||
| .2 | The 2nd occourance of the day (next item) in the month | ||
| .0 | Sunday | ||
| /2:00:00 | Time of day to change | ||
| M11.1.0/2:00:00 | The time when DST ends (when we shift back) | ||
| M11 | The eleventh month (November) | ||
| .1 | The 1st occourance of the day (next item) in the month | ||
| .0 | Sunday | ||
| /2:00:00 | Time of day to change | ||