Date::Calc::Object(3) User Contributed Perl DocumentationDate::Calc::Object(3)
NAME
Date::Calc::Object - Object-oriented add-on for Date::Calc with
overloaded operators
MOTTO
Make frequent things easy and infrequent or hard things possible
PREFACE
Note that you do NOT need to ""use Date::Calc qw(...);"" in addition to
this module.
Simply
use Date::Calc::Object qw(...);
INSTEAD OF
use Date::Calc qw(...);
with the same ""qw(...)"" as you would with the "Date::Calc" module,
and then forget about "Date::Calc::Object" altogether.
The rest of your existing code doesn't change at all.
Note also that in order to create a new date object, you do not need to
use
$date_object = Date::Calc::Object->new(...);
(but you may), and should use
$date_object = Date::Calc->new(...);
instead (saves you some typing and is a trifle faster).
SYNOPSIS
Export tags
:all - all functions from Date::Calc
:aux - auxiliary functions shift_*
:ALL - both :all and :aux
Functions
See Date::Calc(3) for a list of available functions.
$year = shift_year(\@_);
($year,$mm,$dd) = shift_date(\@_);
($hrs,$min,$sec) = shift_time(\@_);
($year,$mm,$dd,$hrs,$min,$sec) = shift_datetime(\@_);
Methods
$old = Date::Calc->accurate_mode([FLAG]);
$old = Date::Calc->number_format([NUMBER|CODEREF]);
$old = Date::Calc->delta_format([NUMBER|CODEREF]); # global default
$old = Date::Calc->date_format([NUMBER|CODEREF]); # global default
$old = Date::Calc->language([LANGUAGE]); # global default
$old = $date->accurate_mode([FLAG]); # is global nevertheless!
$old = $date->number_format([NUMBER|CODEREF]); # is global nevertheless!
$old = $date->delta_format([NUMBER|CODEREF]); # individual override
$old = $date->date_format([NUMBER|CODEREF]); # individual override
$old = $date->language([LANGUAGE]); # individual override
$flag = $date->is_delta();
$flag = $date->is_date();
$flag = $date->is_short(); # i.e., has no time part
$flag = $date->is_long(); # i.e., has time part
$flag = $date->is_valid();
$date = Date::Calc->new([TYPE]);
$date = Date::Calc->new([TYPE,]YEAR,MONTH,DAY[,HRS,MIN,SEC]);
$date = Date::Calc->new($arrayref);
$newdate = $somedate->new([TYPE]);
$newdate = $somedate->new([TYPE,]YEAR,MONTH,DAY[,HRS,MIN,SEC]);
$newdate = $somedate->new($arrayref);
$datecopy = $date->clone();
$targetdate->copy($sourcedate);
$targetdate->copy($arrayref);
$targetdate->copy(@list);
($year,$month,$day) = $date->date([TYPE]);
($year,$month,$day) = $date->date([TYPE,]YEAR,MONTH,DAY[,HRS,MIN,SEC]);
($year,$month,$day) = $date->date($arrayref);
([$hrs,$min,$sec]) = $date->time([TYPE]);
($hrs,$min,$sec) = $date->time([TYPE,]HRS,MIN,SEC);
([$hrs,$min,$sec]) = $date->time($arrayref);
($year,$month,$day,$hrs,$min,$sec) =
$date->datetime([TYPE]);
($year,$month,$day,$hrs,$min,$sec) =
$date->datetime([TYPE,]YEAR,MONTH,DAY[,HRS,MIN,SEC]);
$date = Date::Calc->today([FLAG]);
$date = Date::Calc->now([FLAG]); # shorthand for --+
$date = Date::Calc->today_and_now([FLAG]); # <-----+
$date = Date::Calc->gmtime([time]); # UTC/GMT
$date = Date::Calc->localtime([time]); # local time
$delta = Date::Calc->tzoffset([time]);
$date = Date::Calc->time2date([time]); # UTC/GMT
$date->today([FLAG]); # updates the date part only
$date->now([FLAG]); # updates the time part only
$date->today_and_now([FLAG]); # updates both date and time
$date->gmtime([time]); # updates both date and time (UTC/GMT)
$date->localtime([time]); # updates both date and time (local time)
$delta->tzoffset([time]); # updates both date and time
$date->time2date([time]); # updates both date and time (UTC/GMT)
$time = Date::Calc->mktime(); # same as "$time = CORE::time();"
$time = Date::Calc->date2time(); # same as "$time = CORE::time();"
$time = $date->mktime(); # converts into Unix time (local time)
$time = $date->date2time(); # converts into Unix time (UTC/GMT)
$year = $date->year([YEAR]);
$month = $date->month([MONTH]);
$day = $date->day([DAY]);
$hours = $date->hours([HRS]);
$minutes = $date->minutes([MIN]);
$seconds = $date->seconds([SEC]);
$number = $date->number([NUMBER|CODEREF]);
$string = $date->string([NUMBER|CODEREF][,LANGUAGE]);
$delta->normalize(); # renormalizes a delta vector
Overloaded Operators
#####################################################
# Scalar operands are always converted into a delta #
# vector with that many days, i.e., [1,0,0,SCALAR] #
#####################################################
Comparison Operators:
if ($date1 < $date2) { # compares date part only
if ($date1 <= $date2) { # compares date part only
if ($date1 > $date2) { # compares date part only
if ($date1 >= $date2) { # compares date part only
if ($date1 == $date2) { # compares date part only
if ($date1 != $date2) { # compares date part only
$comp = $date1 <=> $date2; # compares date part only
if ($date1 lt $date2) { # compares both date and time
if ($date1 le $date2) { # compares both date and time
if ($date1 gt $date2) { # compares both date and time
if ($date1 ge $date2) { # compares both date and time
if ($date1 eq $date2) { # compares both date and time
if ($date1 ne $date2) { # compares both date and time
$comp = $date1 cmp $date2; # compares both date and time
Note that you can of course also compare two deltas, but not a date and
a delta!
##################################################
# Default TYPE for array refs in comparisons is: #
# Same as other operand #
##################################################
if ([2000,4,1] == $date) {
if ($today > [2000,4,1]) {
if ($now ge [2000,3,26,2,0,0]) {
if ($delta == [18,0,0]) {
if ($delta == -1) {
Plus:
$date2 = $date1 + $delta;
$date2 = $delta + $date1;
$date += $delta;
$this = $date++;
$next = ++$date;
$delta3 = $delta1 + $delta2;
$delta1 += $delta2;
$delta += $date; # beware of implicit type change!
$delta++;
++$delta;
#####################################################
# Default TYPE for array refs in '+' operations is: #
# Opposite of other operand #
#####################################################
$date2 = [2000,3,26] + $delta;
$date2 = $date1 + [+1,0,0];
$date2 = [0,0,-1] + $date1;
$date2 = $date1 + 1;
$date += [0,0,+1];
$date += 2;
$delta3 = [1,+1,0,-1] + $delta2;
$delta3 = $delta1 + [1,0,0,+1];
$delta3 = $delta1 + 1;
$delta += [1,0,+1,0];
$delta += [2000,3,26]; # beware of implicit type change!
$delta += 7;
Unary Minus:
$delta2 = -$delta1;
Minus:
$delta = $date2 - $date1;
$date2 = $date1 - $delta;
$date -= $delta;
$date2 -= $date1; # beware of implicit type change!
$this = $date--;
$prev = --$date;
$delta3 = $delta2 - $delta1;
$delta2 -= $delta1;
$delta--;
--$delta;
#####################################################
# Default TYPE for array refs in '-' operations is: #
# Always a date #
#####################################################
$delta = $today - [2000,3,26];
$delta = [2000,4,1] - $date;
$date2 = [2000,3,26] - $delta;
$date2 = $date1 - [1,0,0,+7];
$date2 = $date1 - 7;
$date -= [1,0,0,+1]; # better add [0,0,-1] instead!
$date2 -= [2000,3,26]; # beware of implicit type change!
$date2 -= 1;
$delta3 = [1,0,+1,0] - $delta1;
$delta3 = $delta2 - [1,0,0,-1];
$delta -= [1,0,0,+1];
$delta -= 7;
Miscellaneous Operators:
$string = "$date";
$string = "$delta";
print "$date\n";
print "$delta\n";
if ($date) { # date is valid
if ($delta) { # delta is valid
$days = abs($date);
$diff = abs($delta); # can be negative!
$diff = abs(abs($delta)); # always positive
DESCRIPTION
o FLAG
"FLAG" is either 0 (for "false") or 1 (for "true").
In the case of ""accurate_mode()"", this switches "accurate mode" on
and off (see further below for an explanation of what that is).
In the case of ""today()"", ""now()"" and ""today_and_now()"", a
"true" value indicates "GMT" (Greenwich Mean Time), as opposed to
local time, which is the default.
o NUMBER
"NUMBER" is a number between 0 and 2 (for "number_format()" and
"number()") or between 0 and 3 (for "delta_format()", "date_format()"
and "string()"), indicating which of the three/four predefined
formats, respectively, should be used for converting a date into
numeric representation (needed for comparing dates, for instance) or
string representation.
Format #0 is the default at startup and the simplest of all (and
should be fastest to calculate, too).
The string representation of dates in format #0 also has the
advantage of being sortable in chronological order (and of complying
with ISO 8601).
(The numeric formats are (trivially) always sortable in chronological
order of course.)
The other formats are increasingly more sophisticated (in terms of
esthetics and computation time) with increasing number:
Delta number formats (short):
0 13603
1 13603
2 13603
Delta string formats (short):
0 '+0+0+13603'
1 '+0 +0 +13603'
2 '+0Y +0M +13603D'
3 '+0 Y +0 M +13603 D'
Date number formats (short):
0 20010401
1 730576
2 730576
Date string formats (short):
0 '20010401'
1 '01-Apr-2001'
2 'Sun 1-Apr-2001'
3 'Sunday, April 1st 2001'
Delta number formats (long):
0 13603.012959
1 13603.012959
2 13603.0624884259
Delta string formats (long):
0 '+0+0+13603+1+29+59'
1 '+0 +0 +13603 +1 +29 +59'
2 '+0Y +0M +13603D +1h +29m +59s'
3 '+0 Y +0 M +13603 D +1 h +29 m +59 s'
Date number formats (long):
0 20010401.082959
1 730576.082959
2 730576.354155093
Date string formats (long):
0 '20010401082959'
1 '01-Apr-2001 08:29:59'
2 'Sun 1-Apr-2001 08:29:59'
3 'Sunday, April 1st 2001 08:29:59'
If a number outside of the permitted range is specified, or if the
value is not a code reference (see also the next section below for
more details), the default format #0 is used instead.
o CODEREF
"CODEREF" is the reference of a subroutine which can be passed to the
methods "number_format()", "delta_format()" and "date_format()" in
order to install a callback function which will be called
subsequently whenever a date (or delta) object needs to be
(implicitly) converted into a number or string.
This happens for instance when you compare two date objects, or when
you put a date object reference in a string between double quotes.
Such a "CODEREF" can also be passed to the methods "number()" and
"string()" for explicitly converting a date object as desired.
o LANGUAGE
"LANGUAGE" is either a number in the range "[1..Languages()]", or one
of the strings ""Language_to_Text(1..Languages())"" (see also
Date::Calc(3)).
o TYPE
"TYPE" is 0 for a regular date and 1 for a delta vector (a list of
year, month, day and optionally hours, minutes and seconds offsets).
o Storage
"Date::Calc" objects are implemented as two nested arrays.
The "blessed" array (whose reference is the object reference you
receive when calling the "new()" method) contains an anonymous array
at position zero and the object's data in its remaining fields.
The embedded anonymous array is used for storing the object's
attributes (flags).
Dates and delta vectors always comprise either 3 or 6 data values:
Year, month, day plus (optionally) hours, minutes and seconds.
These values are stored in the "blessed" array at positions 1..3 or
1..6, respectively.
An object without the time values is therefore called "short", and an
object having time values is called "long" throughout this manual.
Hint: Whenever possible, if you do not need the time values, omit
them, i.e., always use the "short" form of the object if possible,
this will speed up calculations a little (the short form uses
different (faster) functions for all calculations internally).
The embedded anonymous array contains various flags:
At position zero, it contains the "TYPE" indicator which determines
whether the object is a date or a delta vector.
At position 1, the object stores the "NUMBER" of one of the delta
vector formats, or the reference of a callback function which
converts the contents of the object into string representation if
it's a delta vector, or "undef" if the global settings apply.
At position 2, the object stores the "NUMBER" of one of the date
formats, or the reference of a callback function which converts the
contents of the object into string representation if it's a date, or
"undef" if the global settings apply.
At position 3, the object stores the "LANGUAGE" to be used for all
conversions into strings (where applicable), or "undef" if the global
language setting applies.
Note that your callback functions (see the section "Callback
Functions" further below for more details) do not need to pay
attention to the value at position 3, the language (of the
"Date::Calc" module) will automatically be set to this value whenever
the callback functions are called, and automatically reset to its
former value after the callback.
So if your callback functions use the "*_to_Text*" functions from the
"Date::Calc" module, they will automatically use the correct
language.
Be reminded though that you should NEVER access the object's internal
data directly, i.e., through their positional numbers, but ALWAYS
through their respective accessor methods, e.g.:
year()
month()
day()
hours()
minutes()
seconds()
date()
time()
datetime()
is_delta()
is_date()
is_short()
is_long()
delta_format()
date_format()
language()
And although position 4 and onward in the embedded anonymous array is
currently unused, it might not stay so in future releases of this
module.
Therefore, in case you need more attributes in a subclass of the
"Date::Calc[::Object]" class, I suggest using values starting at
positions a bit further up, e.g. 6, 8 or 10.
o Invalid Dates
Only "new()" allows to create objects containing possibly invalid
dates (needed for reading in and evaluating user input, for example).
o Usage
The methods
accurate_mode()
number_format()
delta_format()
date_format()
language()
date()
time()
datetime()
year()
month()
day()
hours()
minutes()
seconds()
are used for reading as well as for setting attributes. They simply
return the values in question if they are called without parameters.
The methods
accurate_mode()
number_format()
delta_format()
date_format()
language()
always return the previous value if a new value is set. This allows
you to change these values temporarily and to restore their old value
afterwards more easily (but you can also override the "format" and
"language" settings directly when calling the "number()" or
"string()" method).
The methods
date()
time()
datetime()
year()
month()
day()
hours()
minutes()
seconds()
always return the new values when the corresponding values have been
changed.
The method "date()" NEVER returns the time values (hours, minutes,
seconds) even if they have just been set using this method (which the
method optionally allows). Otherwise it would be very hard to predict
the exact number of values it returns, which might lead to errors
(wrong number of parameters) elsewhere in your program.
The method "datetime()" ALWAYS returns the time values (hours,
minutes, seconds) even if the object in question lacks a time part.
In that case, zeros are returned for hours, minutes and seconds
instead (but the stored time part is left unchanged, whether it
exists or not).
If you do not provide values for hours, minutes and seconds when
using the method "date()" to set the values for year, month and day,
the time part will not be changed (whether it exists or not).
If you do not provide values for hours, minutes and seconds when
using the method "datetime()" to set the values for year, month and
day, the time part will be filled with zeros (the time part will be
created if necessary).
If the object is short, i.e., if it does not have any time values,
the method "time()" returns an empty list.
If the object is short and the methods "hours()", "minutes()" or
"seconds()" are used to set any of these time values, the object is
automatically promoted to the "long" form, and the other two time
values are filled with zeros.
The following methods can also return "undef" under certain
circumstances:
delta_format()
date_format()
language()
is_delta()
is_date()
is_short()
is_long()
is_valid()
hours()
minutes()
seconds()
number()
string()
The methods "delta_format()", "date_format()" and "language()" return
"undef" when they are called as object methods and no individual
override has been defined for the object in question.
The "is_*()" predicate methods return "undef" if the object in
question does not have the expected internal structure. This can
happen for instance when you create an empty object with "new()".
When called without parameters, the methods "hours()", "minutes()"
and "seconds()" return "undef" if the object in question does not
have a time part.
The methods "number()" and "string()" return "undef" if the object in
question is not valid (i.e., if "is_valid()" returns "undef" or
false).
And finally, the methods
copy()
today()
now()
today_and_now()
gmtime()
localtime()
tzoffset()
time2date()
normalize()
return the object reference of the (target) object in question for
convenience.
o Import/Export
Note that you can import and export Unix "time" values using the
methods "gmtime()", "localtime()", "mktime()", "date2time()" and
"time2date()", both as local time or as UTC/GMT.
o Accurate Mode
The method "accurate_mode()" controls the internal flag which
determines which of two modes of operation is used.
When set to true (the default at startup), delta vectors are
calculated to give the exact difference in days between two dates.
The "year" and "month" entries in the resulting delta vector are
always zero in that case.
If "accurate mode" is switched off (when the corresponding flag is
set to false), delta vectors are calculated with year and month
differences.
E.g., the difference between "[1999,12,6]" and "[2000,6,24]" is "[+0
+0 +201]" (plus 201 days) in accurate mode and "[+1 -6 +18]" (plus
one year, minus 6 months, plus 18 days) when accurate mode is
switched off.
(The delta vector is calculated by simply taking the difference in
years, the difference in months and the difference in days.)
Because years and months have varying lengths in terms of days, the
latter is less accurate than the former because it depends on the
context of the two dates of which it represents the difference. Added
to a different date, the latter delta vector may yield a different
offset in terms of days.
Beware also that - for the same reason - the absolute value
(""abs()"") of a delta vector returns a fictitious number of days if
the delta vector contains non-zero values for "year" and/or "month"
(see also next section below for more details).
Example:
The difference between "[2000,1,1]" and "[2000,3,1]" is "[+0 +0 +60]"
in accurate mode and "[+0 +2 +0]" else (one could also call this
"year-month-day mode" or "YMD mode" for short).
When added to the date "[2000,4,1]", the "accurate" delta vector
yields the date "[2000,5,31]", whereas the other delta vector yields
the date "[2000,6,1]".
Moreover, when added to the date "[1999,1,1]", the "accurate" delta
vector yields the date "[1999,3,2]", whereas the "inaccurate" delta
vector yields the date "[1999,3,1]".
Depending on what you want, the one or the other mode may suit you
better.
o Absolute Value
Note that ""abs($date)"" and ""abs($delta)"" are just shorthands for
""$date->number()"" and ""$delta->number()"".
The operator ""abs()"", when applied to a date or delta vector,
returns the corresponding number of days (see below for an exception
to this), with the time part (if available) represented by a fraction
after the decimal point.
In the case of dates, the absolute value (to the left of the decimal
point) is the number of days since the 1st of January 1 A.D. (by
extrapolating the Gregorian calendar back beyond its "natural" limit
of 1582 A.D.) PLUS ONE.
(I.e., the absolute value of the 1st of January 1 A.D. is 1.)
Exception:
If the "NUMBER" or "number_format()" is set to 0 (the default
setting), the absolute value of a date to the left of the decimal
point is "yyyymmdd", i.e., the number in which the uppermost four
digits correspond to the year, the next lower two digits to the month
and the lowermost two digits to the day.
In the case of delta vectors, the absolute value (to the left of the
decimal point) is simply the difference in days (but see also below).
Note that the absolute value of a delta vector can be negative!
If you want a positive value in all cases, apply the ""abs()""
operator again, i.e., ""$posdiff = abs(abs($delta));"".
If the delta vector contains non-zero values for "year" and/or
"month" (see also the discussion of "Accurate Mode" in the section
above), an exact representation in days cannot be calculated, because
years and months do not have fixed equivalents in days.
If nevertheless you attempt to calculate the absolute value of such a
delta vector, a fictitious value is returned, which is calculated by
simply multiplying the year difference with 12, adding the month
difference, multiplying this sum with 31 and finally adding the day
difference.
Beware that because of this, the absolute values of delta vectors are
not necessarily contiguous.
Moreover, since there is more than one way to express the difference
between two dates, comparisons of delta vectors may not always yield
the expected result.
Example:
The difference between the two dates "[2000,4,30]" and "[2001,5,1]"
can be expressed as "[+1 +1 -29]", or as "[+1 +0 +1]".
The first delta vector has an absolute value of 374, whereas the
latter delta vector has an absolute value of only 373 (while the true
difference in days between the two dates is 366).
If the date or delta vector has a time part, the time is returned as
a fraction of a full day after the decimal point as follows:
If the "NUMBER" or "number_format()" is set to 0 (the default
setting) or 1, this fraction is simply ".hhmmss", i.e., the two
digits after the decimal point represent the hours, the next two
digits the minutes and the last two digits the seconds.
Note that you cannot simply add and subtract these values to yield
meaningful dates or deltas again, you can only use them for
comparisons (equal, not equal, less than, greater than, etc.). If you
want to add/subtract, read on:
Only when the "NUMBER" or "number_format()" is set to 2, this
fraction will be the equivalent number of seconds (i.e., "(((hours *
60) + minutes) * 60) + seconds") divided by the number of seconds in
a full day (i.e., "24*60*60 = 86400"), or "0/86400", "1/86400", ... ,
"86399/86400".
In other words, the (mathematically correct) fraction of a day.
You can safely perform arithmetics with these values as far as the
internal precision of your vendor's implementation of the C run-time
library (on which Perl depends) will permit.
o Renormalizing Delta Vectors
When adding or subtracting delta vectors to/from one another, the
addition or subtraction takes place component by component.
Example:
[+0 +0 +0 +3 +29 +50] + [+0 +0 +0 +0 +55 +5] = [+0 +0 +0 +3 +84 +55]
[+0 +0 +0 +3 +29 +50] - [+0 +0 +0 +0 +55 +5] = [+0 +0 +0 +3 -26 +45]
This may result in time values outside the usual ranges ("[-23..+23]"
for hours and "[-59..+59]" for minutes and seconds).
Note that even though the delta value for days will often become
quite large, it is impossible to renormalize this value because there
is no constant conversion factor from days to months (should it be
28, 29, 30 or 31?).
If accurate mode (see further above for what that is) is switched
off, delta vectors can also contain non-zero values for years and
months. If you add or subtract these, the value for months can lie
outside the range "[-11..11]", which isn't wrong, but may seem funny.
Therefore, the "normalize()" method will also renormalize the
"months" value, if and only if accurate mode has been switched off.
(!)
(Hence, switch accurate mode ON temporarily if you DON'T want the
renormalization of the "months" value to happen.)
If you want to force the time values from the example above back into
their proper ranges, use the "normalize()" method as follows:
print "[$delta]\n";
$delta->normalize();
print "[$delta]\n";
This will print
[+0 +0 +0 +3 +84 +55]
[+0 +0 +0 +4 +24 +55]
for the first and
[+0 +0 +0 +3 -26 +45]
[+0 +0 +0 +2 +34 +45]
for the second delta vector from the example further above.
Note that the values for days, hours, minutes and seconds are
guaranteed to have the same sign after the renormalization.
Under "normal" circumstances, i.e., when accurate mode is on (the
default), this method only has an effect on the time part of the
delta vector.
If the delta vector in question does not have a time part, nothing is
done.
If accurate mode is off, the "months" value is also normalized, i.e.,
if it lies outside of the range "[-11..11]", integer multiples of 12
are added to the "years" value and subtracted from the "months"
value. Moreover, the "months" value is guaranteed to have the same
sign as the values for days, hours, minutes and seconds, unless the
"months" value is zero or the values for days, hours, minutes and
seconds are all zero.
If the object in question is a date and if warnings are enabled, the
message "normalizing a date is a no-op" will be printed to STDERR.
If the object in question is not a valid "Date::Calc" object, nothing
is done.
The method returns its object's reference, which allows chaining of
method calls, as in the following example:
@time = $delta->normalize()->time();
o Callback Functions
Note that you are not restricted to the built-in formats (numbered
from 0 to 2 for "number_format()" and "number()" and from 0 to 3 for
"delta_format()", "date_format()" and "string()") for converting a
date or delta object into a number or string.
You can also provide your own function(s) for doing so, in order to
suit your own taste or needs, by passing a subroutine reference to
the appropriate method, i.e., "number_format()", "number()",
"delta_format()", "date_format()" and "string()".
You can pass a handler to only one or more of these methods, or to
all of them, as you like. You can use different callback functions,
or the same for all.
In order to facilitate the latter, and in order to make the decoding
of the various cases easier for you, the callback function receives a
uniquely identifying function code as its second parameter:
0 = TO_NUMBER | IS_DATE | IS_SHORT (number[_format])
1 = TO_NUMBER | IS_DATE | IS_LONG (number[_format])
2 = TO_NUMBER | IS_DELTA | IS_SHORT (number[_format])
3 = TO_NUMBER | IS_DELTA | IS_LONG (number[_format])
4 = TO_STRING | IS_DATE | IS_SHORT (string|date_format)
5 = TO_STRING | IS_DATE | IS_LONG (string|date_format)
6 = TO_STRING | IS_DELTA | IS_SHORT (string|delta_format)
7 = TO_STRING | IS_DELTA | IS_LONG (string|delta_format)
The first parameter of the callback function is of course the handle
of the object in question itself (therefore, the callback function
can actually be an object method - but not a class method, for
obvious reasons).
The handler should return the resulting number or string, as
requested.
BEWARE that you should NEVER rely upon any knowledge of the object's
internal structure, as this may be subject to change!
ALWAYS use the test and access methods provided by this module!
Example:
sub handler
{
my($self,$code) = @_;
if ($code == 0) # TO_NUMBER | IS_DATE | IS_SHORT
{
return Date_to_Days( $self->date() );
}
elsif ($code == 1) # TO_NUMBER | IS_DATE | IS_LONG
{
return Date_to_Days( $self->date() ) +
( ( $self->hours() * 60 +
$self->minutes() ) * 60 +
$self->seconds() ) / 86400;
}
elsif ($code == 2) # TO_NUMBER | IS_DELTA | IS_SHORT
{
return ( $self->year() * 12 +
$self->month() ) * 31 +
$self->day();
}
elsif ($code == 3) # TO_NUMBER | IS_DELTA | IS_LONG
{
return ( $self->year() * 12 +
$self->month() ) * 31 +
$self->day() +
( ( $self->hours() * 60 +
$self->minutes() ) * 60 +
$self->seconds() ) / 86400;
}
elsif ($code == 4) # TO_STRING | IS_DATE | IS_SHORT
{
return join( "/", $self->date() );
}
elsif ($code == 5) # TO_STRING | IS_DATE | IS_LONG
{
return join( "/", $self->date() ) . " " .
join( ":", $self->time() );
}
elsif ($code == 6) # TO_STRING | IS_DELTA | IS_SHORT
{
return join( "|", $self->date() );
}
elsif ($code == 7) # TO_STRING | IS_DELTA | IS_LONG
{
return join( "|", $self->datetime() );
}
else
{
die "internal error";
}
}
Date::Calc->number_format(\&handler);
Date::Calc->delta_format(\&handler);
Date::Calc->date_format(\&handler);
This sets our handler to take care of all automatic conversions, such
as needed when comparing dates or when interpolating a string in
double quotes which contains a date object.
To deactivate a handler, simply pass a valid format number to the
method in question, e.g.:
Date::Calc->number_format(0);
Date::Calc->delta_format(2);
Date::Calc->date_format(3);
When calling the "number()" or "string()" method explicitly, you can
pass a different format number (than the global setting), like this:
$number = $date->number(2);
$string = $date->string(1);
You can also pass a handler's reference, like so:
$number = $date->number(\&handler);
$string = $date->string(\&handler);
This overrides the global setting for the duration of the call of
"number()" or "string()" (but doesn't change the global setting
itself).
Moreover, you can also define individual overrides for the date and
the delta vector formats (but not the number format) for individual
objects, e.g.:
$date->delta_format(1);
$date->date_format(2);
$date->delta_format(\&handler);
$date->date_format(\&handler);
In order to deactivate an individual handler for an object, and/or in
order to deactivate any override altogether (so that the global
settings apply again), you have to pass "undef" explicitly to the
method in question:
$date->delta_format(undef);
$date->date_format(undef);
You can also define a language for individual objects (see the next
section immediately below for more details).
If such an individual language override has been set, and if your
callback handlers only use the "*_to_Text*" functions from the
"Date::Calc" module to produce any text, the text produced will
automatically be in the desired language.
This is because the language is set to the value determined by the
individual override before the callback handler is executed, and
reset to its previous value afterwards.
o Languages
Note that this module is completely transparent to the setting of a
language in "Date::Calc". This means that you can choose a language
in "Date::Calc" (with the "Language()" function) and all dates
subsequently printed by this module will automatically be in that
language - provided that you use the built-in formats of this module,
or that you use the "*to_Text*" functions from the "Date::Calc"
module in your formatting handler (callback function).
However, this global language setting can be overridden for
individual date (or delta) objects by using the OBJECT method
$oldlang = $date->language($newlang);
(The global setting is not altered by this in any way.)
In order to deactivate such an individual language setting (so that
the global setting applies again), simply pass the value "undef"
explicitly to the "language()" object method:
$date->language(undef);
The CLASS method
$oldlang = Date::Calc->language($newlang);
is just a convenient wrapper around the "Language()" function, which
allows you to enter language numbers (as returned by the
"Decode_Language()" function) or strings (as returned by the
"Language_to_Text()" function), at your option.
The "language()" method (both class and object) always returns the
NAME (one of ""Language_to_Text(1..Languages())"") of the current
setting (and never its number).
o Exported Functions
The "Date::Calc::Object" package imports ":all" functions exported by
the "Date::Calc" module and re-exports them, for conveniency.
This allows you to write
use Date::Calc::Object qw(...);
instead of
use Date::Calc qw(...);
but with exactly the same semantics. The difference is that the
object-oriented frontend is loaded additionally in the first case.
As with "Date::Calc" you can use the ":all" tag to import all of
"Date::Calc"'s functions:
use Date::Calc::Object qw(:all);
In addition to the functions exported by "Date::Calc", the
"Date::Calc::Object" package offers some utility functions of its own
for export:
$year = shift_year(\@_);
($year,$mm,$dd) = shift_date(\@_);
($hrs,$min,$sec) = shift_time(\@_);
($year,$mm,$dd,$hrs,$min,$sec) = shift_datetime(\@_);
These functions enable your subroutines or methods to accept a
"Date::Calc" (or subclass) date object, an (anonymous) array or a
list (containing the necessary values) as parameters INTERCHANGEABLY.
You can import all of these auxiliary functions by using an ":aux"
tag:
use Date::Calc::Object qw(:aux);
If you want to import both all of the "Date::Calc" functions as well
as all these auxiliary functions, use the ":ALL" tag:
use Date::Calc::Object qw(:ALL);
o Subclassing
In case you want to subclass "Date::Calc" objects and to add new
attributes of your own, it is recommended that you proceed as follows
(the following will be considered as a part of the module's "contract
of use" - which might be subject to change in the future, however):
Define a constant for the index of each attribute you want to add,
currently starting no lower than "4", at the top of your subclass:
use constant ATTRIB1 => 4;
use constant ATTRIB2 => 5;
use constant ATTRIB3 => 6;
...
It is recommended that you use constants (which are easy to change),
because I someday might want to require the element with index "4"
for a new attribute of my own... ":-)"
Then access your attributes like so (e.g. after calling ""$self =
SUPER->new();"" in your constructor method):
$self->[0][ATTRIB1] = 'value1';
$self->[0][ATTRIB2] = 'value2';
$self->[0][ATTRIB3] = 'value3';
...
Beware that if you put anything other than numbers or strings into
your attributes, the methods "clone()" and "copy()" might not work as
expected anymore!
Especially if your attributes contain references to other data
structures, only the references will be copied, but not the data
structures themselves.
This may not be what you want.
(You will have to override these two methods and write some of your
own if not.)
In order for the overloaded operators and the "shift_*()" auxiliary
functions from the "Date::Calc::Object" package to work properly (the
latter of which are heavily used in the "Date::Calendar[::Year]"
modules, for instance), the package name of your subclass (= the one
your objects will be blessed into) is REQUIRED to contain a "::".
Note that you should ONLY subclass "Date::Calc", NEVER
"Date::Calc::Object", since subclassing the latter is less efficient
(because "Date::Calc::Object" is just an empty class which inherits
from "Date::Calc" - subclassing "Date::Calc::Object" would thus just
introduce an additional name space layer to search during Perl's
runtime method binding process).
If you give your subclass a package name below/inside the "Date::"
namespace, you will also benefit from the fact that all error
messages produced by the "Date::Calc[::Object]" module (and also the
"Date::Calendar[::Year]" modules, by the way) will appear to have
originated from the place outside of all ""/^Date::/"" modules
(including yours) where one of the "Date::" modules was first called
- i.e., all errors are always blamed on the user, no matter how
deeply nested inside the "Date::" modules they occur, and do not
usually refer to places inside any of the "Date::" modules (this
assumes that there are no bugs in the "Date::" modules, and that all
errors are always the user's fault ":-)").
Moreover, your module's own error messages will behave in the same
way if you ""use Carp::Clan qw(^Date::);"" at the top of your module
and if you produce all error messages using "carp()" and "croak()"
(instead of "warn()" and "die()", respectively).
EXAMPLES
1)
# Switch to summer time:
$now = Date::Calc->now();
if (($now ge [2000,3,26,2,0,0]) and
($now lt [2000,3,26,3,0,0]))
{
$now += [0,0,0,1,0,0];
}
2)
use Date::Calc::Object qw(:all);
Date::Calc->date_format(3);
$date = 0;
while (!$date)
{
print "Please enter the date of your birthday (day-month-year): ";
$date = Date::Calc->new( Decode_Date_EU( scalar(<STDIN>) ) );
if ($date)
{
$resp = 0;
while ($resp !~ /^\s*[YyNn]/)
{
print "Your birthday is: $date\n";
print "Is that correct? (yes/no) ";
$resp = <STDIN>;
}
$date = 0 unless ($resp =~ /^\s*[Yy]/)
}
else
{
print "Unable to parse your birthday. Please try again.\n";
}
}
if ($date + [18,0,0] <= [Today()])
{ print "Ok, you are over 18.\n"; }
else
{ print "Sorry, you are under 18!\n"; }
For more examples, see the "examples" subdirectory in this
distribution, and their descriptions in the file "EXAMPLES.txt".
SEE ALSO
Date::Calc(3), Date::Calendar(3), Date::Calendar::Year(3),
Date::Calendar::Profiles(3).
VERSION
This man page documents "Date::Calc::Object" version 5.4.
AUTHOR
Steffen Beyer
mailto:sb@engelschall.com
http://www.engelschall.com/u/sb/download/
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2000 - 2004 by Steffen Beyer. All rights reserved.
LICENSE
This package is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the same terms as Perl itself, i.e., under the terms of the
"Artistic License" or the "GNU General Public License".
Please refer to the files "Artistic.txt" and "GNU_GPL.txt" in this
distribution for details!
DISCLAIMER
This package is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
See the "GNU General Public License" for more details.
perl v5.10.0 2004-10-03 Date::Calc::Object(3)
Mac OS X 10.6 - Generated Thu Sep 17 20:11:33 CDT 2009