Time Operators

version 6.0

An expression that uses a time operator returns a time or a number, depending on the operation. The following table shows the time operators:

(1) To obtain a time expression from an expression that combines a time expression with a number, use the commands Time and Time string.

Example:

      ` The following line assigns to $vlSeconds the number of seconds that will be elapsed
      ` between midnight and one hour from now
   $vlSeconds:=Current Time+3600
   
      ` The following line assigns to $vHSoon the time it will be in one hour
   $vhSoon:=Time(Time string(Current time+3600))

The second line could be written in a simpler way:

      ` The following line assigns to $vHSoon the time it will be in one hour
   $vhSoon:=Current time+?01:00:00?

However, while developing your application, you may encounter situations where a delay, expressed in seconds and added to a time value, is only available to you as a numeric value.

In this case, use the next tip.

(2) Some situations may require you to convert a time expression into a numeric expression.

For example, you open a document using Open document, which returns a Document Reference (DocRef) that is formally a time expression. Later, you want to pass that DocRef to a 4D Extension routine that expects a numeric value as document reference. In such a case, use the addition with 0 (zero) to get a numeric value from the time value, but without changing its value.

Example:

      ` Select and open a document
   $vhDocRef:=Open document("")
   If (OK=1)
         ` Pass the DocRef time expression as a numeric expresssion to a 4D Extension routine
      DO SOMETHING SPECIAL (0+$vhDocRef)
   End if

Bitwise Operators, Comparison Operators, Date Operators, Logical Operators, Numeric Operators, Operators, Picture Operators, String Operators.