if all other things fail:

write a function returning a formatted string (parameters are the date and the format you like)

Think Ingo Stiller has some code already for his format/deformat handling of dates etc,

HIH, Uli

Good candidate for a wish, to have a builtin function returning a string following a certain format, for a certain type. In this case, we have a date and want a string with a specific date format (maybe using the current locale format?...).

With a little bit a reflexion, I'm sure we could define a good wish for a super, yet simple to use, builtin function, or this kind of process.

Kind regards,
Richard

Hi Richard,

as I see the faite of the wishes decomposing on uniface.info (never been contacted on one of my ones),
I strongly recommend not to ask CPWR to do what we can do on our own as well.

I gave up the dITo initiative after some 2 years, so someone else should come up with an  "open source".

Uli

P.S. I wonder where CPWR talks to his customers, for sure not here on uniface.info

Seeing that the last report ("Hitlist") on wishes is much more than a year old;
I name this some kind of pacifier for us, the paying customers
rather than a gateway for CPWR to learn what is required "in the field".

I think most of us provide a much better usability to their customers
than we encounter day by day with the IDFand the uniface language.

Something similar to this might do the trick.

; Central Proc

;-----------------------------------------------------------------------

; CP_DISP_DATETIME

; Format the date to a viewable format for export

;-----------------------------------------------------------------------

params

datetime PV_DATETIME:INstring PV_DISPLAY_DATETIME:OUT

endparams

PV_DISPLAY_DATETIME =

"%%PV_DATETIME[M]%%%/%%PV_DATETIME[D]%%%/%%PV_DATETIME[Y]%%% %%PV_DATETIME[9:2]%%%:%%PV_DATETIME[11:2]%%%"

return

(0)

Hi Dave,

thanks for your input (breaking the ice) which is a very good starter for further discussions.

To come near to the start of this thread, we can add another parameter and a selectcase for different options of the layout:

string p_formatoption : IN
selectcase (p_formatoption)
   case 'yy-mm-dd'
      PV_DISPLAY_DATETIME = "%%PV_DATETIME[Y]%%%-%%PV_DATETIME[M]%%%-%%PV_DATETIME[D]%%%"
  elsecase  
      PV_DISPLAY_DATETIME = "%%PV_DATETIME[M]%%%/%%PV_DATETIME[D]%%%/%%PV_DATETIME[Y]%%% %%PV_DATETIME[9:2]%%%:%%PV_DATETIME[11:2]%%%"
endselectcase

Uli

P.S. It's good to see someone contributing rather than just consuming.

returns string
datetime pv_datetime : in
string p_formatoption : IN
string v_outstring : OUT

v_outstring = p_formatoption

v_outstring = replace(v_outstring,1,"yyyy","%%pv_datetime[Y]%%%",-1)
v_outstring = replace(v_outstring,1,"yy","%%pv_datetime[Y]%%%[3:2]",-1)
v_outstring = replace(v_outstring,1,"mm","%%pv_datetime[M]%%%",-1)
v_outstring = replace(v_outstring,1,"dd","%%pv_datetime[D]%%%",-1)
etc.
etc.

return v_outstring
end

or alternatively,

returns string
datetime pv_datetime : in
string p_formatoption : IN
string v_outstring : OUT
variables
string v_pairs
endvariables

putitem/id v_pairs,"YYYY","%%pv_datetime[Y]%%%"
putitem/id v_pairs,"YY","%%pv_datetime[Y]%%%[2:3]"
putitem/id v_pairs,"mm","%%pv_datetime[M]%%%"
....... etc

v_outstring = p_formatoption

while(v_pairs != "")
v_outstring = replace(v_outstring,1,$idpart($itemnr(1,v_pairs)),$valuepart($itemnr(1,v_pairs)),-1)
delitem v_pairs,1
endwhile

return v_outstring
end


Both of these allow the user to pass the format to be used.

returns string
datetime pv_datetime : in
string p_formatoption : IN
string v_outstring : OUT

v_outstring = p_formatoption

v_outstring = replace(v_outstring,1,"yyyy","%%pv_datetime[Y]%%%",-1)
v_outstring = replace(v_outstring,1,"yy","%%pv_datetime[Y]%%%[3:2]",-1)
v_outstring = replace(v_outstring,1,"mm","%%pv_datetime[M]%%%",-1)
v_outstring = replace(v_outstring,1,"dd","%%pv_datetime[D]%%%",-1)
etc.
etc.

return v_outstring
end

or alternatively,

returns string
datetime pv_datetime : in
string p_formatoption : IN
string v_outstring : OUT
variables
string v_pairs
endvariables

putitem/id v_pairs,"YYYY","%%pv_datetime[Y]%%%"
putitem/id v_pairs,"YY","%%pv_datetime[Y]%%%[2:3]"
putitem/id v_pairs,"mm","%%pv_datetime[M]%%%"
....... etc

v_outstring = p_formatoption

while(v_pairs != "")
v_outstring = replace(v_outstring,1,$idpart($itemnr(1,v_pairs)),$valuepart($itemnr(1,v_pairs)),-1)
delitem v_pairs,1
endwhile

return v_outstring
end


Both of these allow the user to pass the format to be used.

returns string
datetime pv_datetime : in
string p_formatoption : IN
string v_outstring : OUT

v_outstring = p_formatoption

v_outstring = replace(v_outstring,1,"yyyy","%%pv_datetime[Y]%%%",-1)
v_outstring = replace(v_outstring,1,"yy","%%pv_datetime[Y]%%%[3:2]",-1)
v_outstring = replace(v_outstring,1,"mm","%%pv_datetime[M]%%%",-1)
v_outstring = replace(v_outstring,1,"dd","%%pv_datetime[D]%%%",-1)
etc.
etc.

return v_outstring
end

or alternatively,

returns string
datetime pv_datetime : in
string p_formatoption : IN
string v_outstring : OUT
variables
string v_pairs
endvariables

putitem/id v_pairs,"YYYY","%%pv_datetime[Y]%%%"
putitem/id v_pairs,"YY","%%pv_datetime[Y]%%%[2:3]"
putitem/id v_pairs,"mm","%%pv_datetime[M]%%%"
....... etc

v_outstring = p_formatoption

while(v_pairs != "")
v_outstring = replace(v_outstring,1,$idpart($itemnr(1,v_pairs)),$valuepart($itemnr(1,v_pairs)),-1)
delitem v_pairs,1
endwhile

return v_outstring
end


Both of these allow the user to pass the format to be used.

Hi,

if the demanded format is fix, why don't use a component variable?

So the code will become very smal, but you have to maintain this variables

; -- define $dMyDate$ with Layout DIS(yyyy-mm-dd)

$dMyDate$ = $date()

myText = "%%$dMyDate$%%%" ; important here you need substitution!

message myText

Of course depending how offen you need this and how flexible you must be for maintenance (but change component-var can be done, by updaten Repos ;))

Best regards

Thomas

Hi Iain,

a great example with a lot of flexibility in it.

At least 10 stars of excellence for this contribution.

Uli

Hi all,

Here I give you an alternative way to change the date format in 1 statement:

$1 = $concat ("0%%$date[d]%%%"[($length($date[d])),($length($date[d]))+1], "-",  "0%%$date[M]%%%"[($length($date[M])),($length($date[M]))+1] , "-",  "%%$date[Y]%%%")

regards Jip Westerman

Hi Jip,

.. a very clever way for padding leading characters in just 1 line of code.

A lot of "stars of excellence" from me

Uli

www.uli-merkel.de * ulrichmerkel@web.de

Hi

I didn't know the string extraction could apply to string literals, good to know, far more than the date format :)