Working With Dates < 1/1/1970

[TerryL]

Convert to seconds/dateItems and is a date don't work in Windows when calculating with dates < 1/1/1970. This is a Windows issue, not LiveCode. A work-around is to do math directly on the date numbers with approximate result.

I have a kludgy past-date function. There must be a better elegant solution. Terry

Code: Select all

on mouseUp  --age
   set the itemDel to "/"
   repeat forever
      ask "If Elvis were alive, how old would he be? (mo/dy/year)" with "1/8/1935" titled "Age"
      if it = empty then exit to top
      if item 1 of it is a number and item 1 of it >= "1" and item 1 of it <= "12" and \
            item 2 of it is a number and item 2 of it >= "1" and item 2 of it <= "31" and \
            item 3 of it is a number and length(item 3 of it) = "4" then
         set the itemDel to ","  --default
         exit repeat
      end if
      beep
      answer "Please enter date as: MONTH 1-12 / DAY 1-31 / 4-digit YEAR" with "OK" titled "Age"
   end repeat
   answer "Birthdate:" && it &cr& "Age:" && age(it) & "." with "OK" titled "Age"
end mouseUp

function age Birthdate  --age("mo/dy/year")  [4-digit year] [handles windows dates < 1/1/1970]
   local NewerYear, NewerMonth, NewerDay, OlderYear, OlderMonth, OlderDay, AgeYear, AgeMonth, AgeDay
   convert date() to dateItems
   put item 1 of it into NewerYear
   put item 2 of it into NewerMonth
   put item 3 of it into NewerDay
   set the itemDel to "/"
   put item 1 of Birthdate into OlderMonth
   put item 2 of Birthdate into OlderDay
   put item 3 of Birthdate into OlderYear
   set the itemDel to ","  --default
   put NewerYear - OlderYear into AgeYear
   if NewerMonth < OlderMonth or NewerMonth = OlderMonth and NewerDay < OlderDay then subtract 1 from AgeYear
   put NewerMonth - OlderMonth into AgeMonth
   if AgeMonth < "0" or NewerDay < OlderDay then add 12 to AgeMonth
   put NewerDay - OlderDay into AgeDay
   if AgeDay < "0" then
      subtract 1 from AgeMonth
      add 30 to AgeDay  --approximate
   end if
   return AgeYear &&"years,"&& AgeMonth &&"months,"&& AgeDay &&"days"
end age

(Edit1: added date validation to test user input.)

[dunbarx]

Windows? What is that?

On a Mac, the baseline date is just that, a baseLine. It is not the big bang. If you:

Code: Select all

on mouseUp
   put "1/1/1955" into temp
   convert temp to  dateItems
   answer temp
   convert temp to seconds
   answer temp
end mouseUp

You get a valid date representation and then a negative number (which can be used just like any other number). What does windows do?

Craig Newman

[FourthWorld]

It's a limitation/bug in Windows - checking "the result" after attempting the "convert" command on a string that evaluates to a date prior to 1/1/70 results in "invalid date".

[SparkOut]

Is it accurate to say a "limitation/bug in Windows" or better "a limitation/bug in the way LiveCode has been made to interact with the implementation of date functions native to Windows"?
I find it hard to see how this long-standing issue has been not been addressed in the engine.Other applications manage fine. Sure we can roll our own date functions, or use Malte's excellent library, but this problem should be dealt with. Otherwise, what is the point in having any native functions? Especially in a product meant to be cross-platform.

[FourthWorld]

Agreed: even if it is a bug in Windows, if it can be worked around in script it would be even easier for the engine to work around it for us.