Date and Time Functions¶

Introduction¶

If you are using these functions in conjunction with either the Now or Now_ functions, be aware that the time zone returned is the one configured on the machine running the agent. All Cloud Agents are in UTC. Private Agents will vary based on the specific machine each agent is running on. If you are using a conversion function take this into account if your project is designed to run both in the cloud and on a Private Agent.

Time Zone Codes¶

The time zone parameters are one of the standard time zone codes, either a full name (TZ code) such as "America/Los_Angeles", a UTC offset such as "UTC-8:00", or an abbreviation such as "PST" (three-letter code). Time zone codes are case-sensitive. Full name TZ codes are recommended, if a time zone is being used, as "AST" can refer to either "Atlantic" or "Arabic" standard time.

• TZ codes (an unofficial list) can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones.
• Three-letter codes are listed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_time_zone_abbreviations. These are deprecated by the IANA, though currently supported.
• Additional information can be found at https://www.iana.org/time-zones.

Converting UNIX Times to dates¶

If a UNIX time is a number that includes millisecond precision, you can use code similar to this to convert a UNIX time to a date:

// If you have a UNIX timestamp with milliseconds such as
createdate = "1478119530707";
// You can convert it to a date by
// truncating the last three digits and using FormatDate:
date = double(Left(createdate, 10));
FormatDate(date, "yyyy-mm-dd");

ConvertTimeZone¶

Declaration¶

string ConvertTimeZone(date d, string fromTZ, string toTZ[, bool is_european_format, bool ignoreDST])

string ConvertTimeZone(string d, string fromTZ, string toTZ[, bool is_european_format, bool ignoreDST])

Syntax¶

ConvertTimeZone(<d>, <fromTZ>, <toTZ>[, <is_european_format>, <ignoreDST>])

Required Parameters¶

• date: A date, either as a date object or as a date string
• fromTZ: The time zone to be converted from, expressed as a time zone code
• toTZ: The time zone to be converted to, expressed as a time zone code

Optional Parameters¶

• is_european_format: This optional flag determines if the European date format is to be used. When true, the format is day and then month; when false, the format is month and then day.

• ignoreDST: By default, daylight savings is accounted for when converting between the four major US time zones. Set this optional flag to true to override this action.

Description¶

Take a date and returns it converted from one time zone to another time zone.

Examples¶

ConvertTimeZone(Now(), "UTC", "America/Los_Angeles", false, false);
// If Now() returns "2017-03-10 18:34:37"
// returns "2017-03-10 10:34:37"

ConvertTimeZone("02/06/2017 5:25:00", "America/Los_Angeles", "America/New_York");
// Returns "2017-02-06 08:25:00" (shifts the time by 3 hours)

CVTDate¶

Declaration¶

string CVTDate(date d, string inputFormat, string outputFormat)

string CVTDate(string d, string inputFormat, string outputFormat)

Syntax¶

CVTDate(<d>, <inputFormat>, <outputFormat>)

Required Parameters¶

• d: A date object or date string
• inputFormat: A format string, specifying the format of the input date
• outputFormat: A format string, specifying the format of the output date

Description¶

Converts a date object or date string in the input format to a date string in the output format.

Examples¶

In these examples, it is assumed that all agents are running in the cloud, and times returned would be UTC. "myDate" is the date June 19, 1994.

Format Strings¶

The format of both the input date string and the output date string are specified in the same way by using either characters for placeholders or one of the four predefined date formats (GeneralDate, LongDate, MediumDate, or ShortDate).

For inputs, the year, month, day, hour, minute, second, and AM/PM are read from the date string at the position where y, m, d, H, M, S, SSS, and AP appear in the input format string.

For outputs, the format string is copied to the data string with the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second replacing the characters of y, m, d, H, M, S, SSS, and AP.

Alternatively, the substitutions used in the ANSI C method strftime can be used. For example, the string "%Y-%m-%d" would result in the ISO 8601 date format (yyyy-mm-dd). See the external documentation on strftime for a detailed description.

These codes can appear as required in the format string to specify how to read the input or to write the output:

DateAdd¶

Declaration¶

string DateAdd(string datePart, int number, date d)

string DateAdd(string datePart, int number, string d)

Syntax¶

DateAdd(<datePart>, <number>, <d>)

Required Parameters¶

• datePart: A part code describing the part of the date to apply the addition to
• number: An integer number to be added to the date part
• d: The date object or a date string to be operated on

Description¶

Returns a date string after adding a number to a specified part of a date object.

These codes are used to describe the date parts:

Examples¶

DateAdd("yyyy", 1, Now());
// Adding one year to a date
// If Now() returns 2017-03-10 18:46:41
// returns "2018-03-10 18:46:41"

DateAdd("dd", 1, "2017-03-10");
// Adding one day to a date
// Returns "2017-03-11"

DayOfMonth¶

Declaration¶

int DayOfMonth(date d)

int DayOfMonth(string d)

Syntax¶

DayOfMonth(<d>)

Required Parameters¶

• d: A date object or date string

Description¶

Returns the day of the month (1-31) of a date object or date string.

Examples¶

DayOfMonth(Now());
// Returns 25 if today is December 25

DayOfWeek¶

Declaration¶

int DayOfWeek(date d)

int DayOfWeek(string d)

Syntax¶

DayOfWeek(<d>)

Required Parameters¶

• d: A date object or date string

Description¶

Returns the day of the week for a date object or date string, with 0 for Sunday, 1 for Monday, on through 6 for Saturday.

This definition is independent of locale. For the weekday name, call FormatDate instead.

Examples¶

DayOfWeek(Now());
// Returns 0, if today is Sunday

Now() + (6 - DayOfWeek(Now()))*24*60*60;
// Returns the date object of the last day of the current week,
// assuming Saturday (day 6) is the last day of the week

FormatDate¶

Declaration¶

string FormatDate(date d, string format)

string FormatDate(string d, string format)

Syntax¶

FormatDate(<d>, <format>)

Required Parameters¶

• d: A date object or date string
• format: A format string, specifying the format of the output date

Description¶

Converts a date object to a string according to a format string. This is similar to the CVTDate function and uses the same format strings.

Examples¶

FormatDate(Now(),"%w");
// Similar to DayOfWeek(Now()), except the return value
// is a string value of today's weekday name, such as "Wed"

FormatDate("2017-12-07","%A");
// Returns the weekday name of the date string, such as "Thursday"

LPadChar(String(Long(FormatDate(d, "yyyy")) - 1900), "0", 3) + FormatDate(d, "ddd");
// Returns, for a date d, a string formatted as a JD Edwards Date ("CYYDDD")
// If d = "2000-12-31" (a leap year), returns "100366"
// See https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E26228_01/doc.93/e21961/julian_date_conv.htm#WEAWX259

GeneralDate¶

Declaration¶

string GeneralDate(date d)

string GeneralDate(string d)

Syntax¶

GeneralDate(<d>)

Required Parameters¶

• d: A date object or date string

Description¶

Returns a string in the general date format for a date object or date string.

Examples¶

GeneralDate(Now());
// If Now() is 11:59:23 am on September 16, 2000,
// returns "09/16/2000 11:59:23 AM"

GeneralDate("2017-12-07");
// Returns "12/07/2017 12:00:00 AM"

GetUTCFormattedDate¶

Declaration¶

string GetUTCFormattedDate(date d, string time_zone_id[, bool is_european_format])

string GetUTCFormattedDate(string d, string time_zone_id[, bool is_european_format])

Syntax¶

GetUTCFormattedDate(<d>, <time_zone_id>[, <is_european_format>])

Required Parameters¶

• d: A date object or date string
• time_zone_id: The time zone to be converted from, expressed as a time zone code

Optional Parameters¶

• is_european_format: This optional flag determines if the European date format is to be used. When true, the format is day and then month; when false, the format is month and then day.

Description¶

Returns a date string without time information. Converts a date object or date string to a string according to a time zone code.

Examples¶

// If Now() is 2017-12-09 18:46:41, then:

GetUTCFormattedDate(Now(), "UTC", false);
// Returns "2017-12-09"

GetUTCFormattedDate(Now(), "America/Los_Angeles", false);
// Returns "2017-12-09"

GetUTCFormattedDateTime¶

Declaration¶

string GetUTCFormattedDateTime(date d, string time_zone_id[, bool is_european_format])

string GetUTCFormattedDateTime(string d, string time_zone_id[, bool is_european_format])

Syntax¶

GetUTCFormattedDateTime(<d>, <time_zone_id>[, <is_european_format>])

Required Parameters¶

• d: A date object or date string
• time_zone_id: The time zone to be converted from, expressed as a time zone code

Optional Parameters¶

• is_european_format: This optional flag determines if the European date format is to be used. When true, the format is day and then month; when false, the format is month and then day.

Description¶

Returns a date string with time information. Converts a date object or date string to a string according to a time zone code.

Examples¶

// If Now() is 2017-12-09 18:46:21, then:
GetUTCFormattedDateTime(Now(), "UTC", false);
// Returns "2017-12-09T18:46:21Z"
GetUTCFormattedDateTime(Now(), "America/Los_Angeles", false);
// Returns "2017-12-10T02:46:21Z"

LastDayOfMonth¶

Declaration¶

date LastDayOfMonth(date d)

date LastDayOfMonth(string d)

Syntax¶

LastDayOfMonth(<d>)

Required Parameters¶

• d: A date object or date string

Description¶

Returns a date object representing the last day of the month for a date object or date string.

Examples¶

LastDayOfMonth(Now());
// If today is in February of a leap year,
// returns the date object of February 29

LongDate¶

Declaration¶

string LongDate(date d)

string LongDate(string d)

Syntax¶

LongDate(<d>)

Required Parameters¶

• d: A date object or date string

Description¶

Returns a string in the long date format for a date object or date string.

Examples¶

LongDate(Now());
// If Now() is 11:59:23 am on September 16, 2000,
// returns "Saturday, September 16, 2000"

LongTime¶

Declaration¶

string LongTime(date d)

string LongTime(string d)

Syntax¶

LongTime(<d>)

Required Parameters¶

• d: A date object or date string

Description¶

Returns a string in the long time format for a date object or date string.

Examples¶

LongTime(Now());
// If Now() is 11:59:23 am on September 16, 2000
// returns "11:59:23 AM"

MediumDate¶

Declaration¶

string MediumDate(date d)

string MediumDate(string d)

Syntax¶

MediumDate(<d>)

Required Parameters¶

• d: A date object or date string

Description¶

Returns a string in the medium date format for a date object or date string.

Examples¶

MediumDate(Now());
// If Now() is 11:59:23 am on September 16, 2000
// returns "16-Sep-00"

MediumTime¶

Declaration¶

string MediumTime(date d)

string MediumTime(string d)

Syntax¶

MediumTime(<d>)

Required Parameters¶

• d: A date object or date string

Description¶

Returns a string in the medium time format for a date object or date string.

Examples¶

MediumTime(Now());
// If Now() is 11:59:23 am on September 16, 2000
// returns "11:59 AM"

MonthOfYear¶

Declaration¶

int MonthOfYear(date d)

int MonthOfYear(string d)

Syntax¶

MonthOfYear(<d>)

Required Parameters¶

• d: A date object or date string

Description¶

Returns the month (1-12) for a date object or date string.

Examples¶

MonthOfYear(Now());
// If Now() is 11:59:23 am on September 16, 2000
// returns "9"

Now¶

Declaration¶

date Now()

Syntax¶

Now()

Description¶

Returns a date object representing the date and time values at the moment the function was run. The fraction of the second is truncated.

Examples¶

Now();
// If Now() is 11:59:23 am on September 16, 2000,
// returns a date object representing 09/16/2000 11:59:23 AM

Now_¶

Declaration¶

date Now_()

Syntax¶

Now_()

Description¶

Returns a date object representing the date and time values at the moment the function was run. The time value includes the fraction of second (milliseconds).

Examples¶

Now_();
// If Now_() is 11:59:23.123 am on September 16, 2000
// returns a date object representing 09/16/2000 11:59:23.123 AM

ShortDate¶

Declaration¶

string ShortDate(date d)

string ShortDate(string d)

Syntax¶

ShortDate(<d>)

Required Parameters¶

• d: A date object or date string

Description¶

Returns a string in the short date format for a date object or date string.

Examples¶

ShortDate(Now());
// If Now() is 11:59:23 am on September 16, 2017
// returns "9/16/17"

ShortTime¶

Declaration¶

string ShortTime(date d)

string ShortTime(string d)

Syntax¶

ShortTime(<d>)

Required Parameters¶

• d: A date object or date string

Description¶

Returns a string in the short time format for a date object or date string.

Examples¶

ShortTime(Now());
// If Now() is 11:59:23 am on September 16, 2017
// returns "11:59"