Usenet 1994 January/usenetsourcesnewsgroupsinfomagicjanuary1994.iso/sources/std_unix/mod.std.unix.v8/text0069.txt

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From: [e-mail] (Chris Torek)
To: [e-mail], hpfcdg![e-mail]
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 86 16:25:27 EST

The time string formats seem to express a fair number of similar
numeric entities:
...
>    %H is replaced by the hour (24-hour clock) as a decimal number
>       (00 to 23)
>    %I is replaced by the hour (12-hour clock) as a decimal number
>       (01 to 12)
...
>    %U is replaced by the week number of the year with Sunday as the
>       first day of the week (00 to 52)
>    %V is replaced by the week number of the year with Monday as the
>       first day of the week (00 to 52)
>    %w is replaced by the weekday as a decimal number [0 (Sunday) to 6]
...
>    %y is replaced by the year without century (00 to 99)
>    %Y is replaced by the year with century

Now, time conversion may or may not be anywhere near as complex a
task as terminal control, but it seems to me that we may be repeating
the mistake made with termcap, repaired in terminfo.  Rather than
defining a specific set of numeric values, perhaps strftime, like
terminfo, should have a small calculator built in.  Then, e.g.,
`%y' and `%Y' are unnecessary.  `%y' could push the year-with-century,
and `%{100}' the value 100; invoking mod (`%%'? the name may prove
problematical) and `%2d' could then produce the year-without-century.
--
In-Real-Life: Chris Torek, Univ of MD Comp Sci Dept ([phone])
UUCP:    seismo!mimsy!chris    ARPA/CSNet:    [e-mail]

Volume-Number: Volume 8, Number 70