-Paul Eggert and others, including renaming it to @code{parse_datetime}
-to avoid confusion with the Posix function @code{getdate}.
+Paul Eggert and others, including renaming it to @code{get_date} to
+avoid a conflict with the alternative Posix function @code{getdate},
+and a later rename to @code{parse_datetime}. The Posix function
+@code{getdate} can parse more locale-specific dates using
+@code{strptime}, but relies on an environment variable and external
+file, and lacks the thread-safety of @code{parse_datetime}.