2012-11-24 03:24:14 +04:00
<?xml version='1.0'?> <!-- * - nxml - * -->
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< !DOCTYPE refentry PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.5//EN"
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"http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.5/docbookx.dtd">
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<!-- SPDX - License - Identifier: LGPL - 2.1 - or - later -->
2012-11-24 03:24:14 +04:00
<refentry id= "systemd.time" >
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
<refentryinfo >
<title > systemd.time</title>
<productname > systemd</productname>
</refentryinfo>
<refmeta >
<refentrytitle > systemd.time</refentrytitle>
<manvolnum > 7</manvolnum>
</refmeta>
<refnamediv >
<refname > systemd.time</refname>
<refpurpose > Time and date specifications</refpurpose>
</refnamediv>
<refsect1 >
<title > Description</title>
<para > In systemd, timestamps, time spans, and calendar events are
displayed and may be specified in closely related syntaxes.</para>
</refsect1>
<refsect1 >
<title > Displaying Time Spans</title>
util-lib: make timestamp generation and parsing reversible (#3869)
This patch improves parsing and generation of timestamps and calendar
specifications in two ways:
- The week day is now always printed in the abbreviated English form, instead
of the locale's setting. This makes sure we can always parse the week day
again, even if the locale is changed. Given that we don't follow locale
settings for printing timestamps in any other way either (for example, we
always use 24h syntax in order to make uniform parsing possible), it only
makes sense to also stick to a generic, non-localized form for the timestamp,
too.
- When parsing a timestamp, the local timezone (in its DST or non-DST name)
may be specified, in addition to "UTC". Other timezones are still not
supported however (not because we wouldn't want to, but mostly because libc
offers no nice API for that). In itself this brings no new features, however
it ensures that any locally formatted timestamp's timezone is also parsable
again.
These two changes ensure that the output of format_timestamp() may always be
passed to parse_timestamp() and results in the original input. The related
flavours for usec/UTC also work accordingly. Calendar specifications are
extended in a similar way.
The man page is updated accordingly, in particular this removes the claim that
timestamps systemd prints wouldn't be parsable by systemd. They are now.
The man page previously showed invalid timestamps as examples. This has been
removed, as the man page shouldn't be a unit test, where such negative examples
would be useful. The man page also no longer mentions the names of internal
functions, such as format_timestamp_us() or UNIX error codes such as EINVAL.
2016-08-04 02:04:53 +03:00
<para > Time spans refer to time durations. On display, systemd will present time spans as a space-separated series
of time values each suffixed by a time unit. Example:</para>
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
<programlisting > 2h 30min</programlisting>
util-lib: make timestamp generation and parsing reversible (#3869)
This patch improves parsing and generation of timestamps and calendar
specifications in two ways:
- The week day is now always printed in the abbreviated English form, instead
of the locale's setting. This makes sure we can always parse the week day
again, even if the locale is changed. Given that we don't follow locale
settings for printing timestamps in any other way either (for example, we
always use 24h syntax in order to make uniform parsing possible), it only
makes sense to also stick to a generic, non-localized form for the timestamp,
too.
- When parsing a timestamp, the local timezone (in its DST or non-DST name)
may be specified, in addition to "UTC". Other timezones are still not
supported however (not because we wouldn't want to, but mostly because libc
offers no nice API for that). In itself this brings no new features, however
it ensures that any locally formatted timestamp's timezone is also parsable
again.
These two changes ensure that the output of format_timestamp() may always be
passed to parse_timestamp() and results in the original input. The related
flavours for usec/UTC also work accordingly. Calendar specifications are
extended in a similar way.
The man page is updated accordingly, in particular this removes the claim that
timestamps systemd prints wouldn't be parsable by systemd. They are now.
The man page previously showed invalid timestamps as examples. This has been
removed, as the man page shouldn't be a unit test, where such negative examples
would be useful. The man page also no longer mentions the names of internal
functions, such as format_timestamp_us() or UNIX error codes such as EINVAL.
2016-08-04 02:04:53 +03:00
<para > All specified time values are meant to be added up. The above hence refers to 150 minutes. Display is
locale-independent, only English names for the time units are used.</para>
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
</refsect1>
<refsect1 >
<title > Parsing Time Spans</title>
<para > When parsing, systemd will accept the same time span syntax.
Separating spaces may be omitted. The following time units are
understood:</para>
<itemizedlist >
2023-06-14 11:13:08 +03:00
<listitem > <para > usec, us, μs</para> </listitem>
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
<listitem > <para > msec, ms</para> </listitem>
<listitem > <para > seconds, second, sec, s</para> </listitem>
<listitem > <para > minutes, minute, min, m</para> </listitem>
<listitem > <para > hours, hour, hr, h</para> </listitem>
<listitem > <para > days, day, d</para> </listitem>
<listitem > <para > weeks, week, w</para> </listitem>
2015-11-13 20:19:34 +03:00
<listitem > <para > months, month, M (defined as 30.44 days)</para> </listitem>
util-lib: make timestamp generation and parsing reversible (#3869)
This patch improves parsing and generation of timestamps and calendar
specifications in two ways:
- The week day is now always printed in the abbreviated English form, instead
of the locale's setting. This makes sure we can always parse the week day
again, even if the locale is changed. Given that we don't follow locale
settings for printing timestamps in any other way either (for example, we
always use 24h syntax in order to make uniform parsing possible), it only
makes sense to also stick to a generic, non-localized form for the timestamp,
too.
- When parsing a timestamp, the local timezone (in its DST or non-DST name)
may be specified, in addition to "UTC". Other timezones are still not
supported however (not because we wouldn't want to, but mostly because libc
offers no nice API for that). In itself this brings no new features, however
it ensures that any locally formatted timestamp's timezone is also parsable
again.
These two changes ensure that the output of format_timestamp() may always be
passed to parse_timestamp() and results in the original input. The related
flavours for usec/UTC also work accordingly. Calendar specifications are
extended in a similar way.
The man page is updated accordingly, in particular this removes the claim that
timestamps systemd prints wouldn't be parsable by systemd. They are now.
The man page previously showed invalid timestamps as examples. This has been
removed, as the man page shouldn't be a unit test, where such negative examples
would be useful. The man page also no longer mentions the names of internal
functions, such as format_timestamp_us() or UNIX error codes such as EINVAL.
2016-08-04 02:04:53 +03:00
<listitem > <para > years, year, y (defined as 365.25 days)</para> </listitem>
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
</itemizedlist>
util-lib: make timestamp generation and parsing reversible (#3869)
This patch improves parsing and generation of timestamps and calendar
specifications in two ways:
- The week day is now always printed in the abbreviated English form, instead
of the locale's setting. This makes sure we can always parse the week day
again, even if the locale is changed. Given that we don't follow locale
settings for printing timestamps in any other way either (for example, we
always use 24h syntax in order to make uniform parsing possible), it only
makes sense to also stick to a generic, non-localized form for the timestamp,
too.
- When parsing a timestamp, the local timezone (in its DST or non-DST name)
may be specified, in addition to "UTC". Other timezones are still not
supported however (not because we wouldn't want to, but mostly because libc
offers no nice API for that). In itself this brings no new features, however
it ensures that any locally formatted timestamp's timezone is also parsable
again.
These two changes ensure that the output of format_timestamp() may always be
passed to parse_timestamp() and results in the original input. The related
flavours for usec/UTC also work accordingly. Calendar specifications are
extended in a similar way.
The man page is updated accordingly, in particular this removes the claim that
timestamps systemd prints wouldn't be parsable by systemd. They are now.
The man page previously showed invalid timestamps as examples. This has been
removed, as the man page shouldn't be a unit test, where such negative examples
would be useful. The man page also no longer mentions the names of internal
functions, such as format_timestamp_us() or UNIX error codes such as EINVAL.
2016-08-04 02:04:53 +03:00
<para > If no time unit is specified, generally seconds are assumed, but some exceptions exist and are marked as
such. In a few cases <literal > ns</literal> , <literal > nsec</literal> is accepted too, where the granularity of the
time span permits this. Parsing is generally locale-independent, non-English names for the time units are not
accepted.</para>
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
<para > Examples for valid time span specifications:</para>
<programlisting > 2 h
2012-11-24 03:24:14 +04:00
2hours
48hr
1y 12month
55s500ms
300ms20s 5day</programlisting>
2018-10-15 14:55:35 +03:00
<para > One can use the <command > timespan</command> command of
<citerefentry > <refentrytitle > systemd-analyze</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 1</manvolnum> </citerefentry>
to normalise a textual time span for testing and validation purposes.</para>
2020-08-27 16:45:29 +03:00
<para > Internally, systemd generally operates with microsecond time granularity, while the default time
unit in user-configurable time spans is usually seconds (see above). This disparity becomes visible when
comparing the same settings in the (high-level) unit file syntax with the matching (more low-level) D-Bus
properties (which are what
<citerefentry > <refentrytitle > systemctl</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 1</manvolnum> </citerefentry> 's
<command > show</command> command displays). The former typically are suffixed with <literal > …Sec</literal>
to indicate the default unit of seconds, the latter are typically suffixed with <literal > …USec</literal>
to indicate the underlying low-level time unit, even if they both encapsulate the very same
settings.</para>
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
</refsect1>
<refsect1 >
<title > Displaying Timestamps</title>
<para > Timestamps refer to specific, unique points in time. On
display, systemd will format these in the local timezone as
follows:</para>
<programlisting > Fri 2012-11-23 23:02:15 CET</programlisting>
util-lib: make timestamp generation and parsing reversible (#3869)
This patch improves parsing and generation of timestamps and calendar
specifications in two ways:
- The week day is now always printed in the abbreviated English form, instead
of the locale's setting. This makes sure we can always parse the week day
again, even if the locale is changed. Given that we don't follow locale
settings for printing timestamps in any other way either (for example, we
always use 24h syntax in order to make uniform parsing possible), it only
makes sense to also stick to a generic, non-localized form for the timestamp,
too.
- When parsing a timestamp, the local timezone (in its DST or non-DST name)
may be specified, in addition to "UTC". Other timezones are still not
supported however (not because we wouldn't want to, but mostly because libc
offers no nice API for that). In itself this brings no new features, however
it ensures that any locally formatted timestamp's timezone is also parsable
again.
These two changes ensure that the output of format_timestamp() may always be
passed to parse_timestamp() and results in the original input. The related
flavours for usec/UTC also work accordingly. Calendar specifications are
extended in a similar way.
The man page is updated accordingly, in particular this removes the claim that
timestamps systemd prints wouldn't be parsable by systemd. They are now.
The man page previously showed invalid timestamps as examples. This has been
removed, as the man page shouldn't be a unit test, where such negative examples
would be useful. The man page also no longer mentions the names of internal
functions, such as format_timestamp_us() or UNIX error codes such as EINVAL.
2016-08-04 02:04:53 +03:00
<para > The weekday is printed in the abbreviated English language form. The formatting is locale-independent.</para>
<para > In some cases timestamps are shown in the UTC timezone instead of the local timezone, which is indicated via
the <literal > UTC</literal> timezone specifier in the output.</para>
<para > In some cases timestamps are shown with microsecond granularity. In this case the sub-second remainder is
separated by a full stop from the seconds component.</para>
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
</refsect1>
<refsect1 >
<title > Parsing Timestamps</title>
2023-09-08 19:00:12 +03:00
<para > When parsing, systemd will accept a similar syntax, but some fields can be omitted,
and the space between the date and time can be replaced with a <literal > T</literal>
(à la the <ulink url= "https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3339" > RFC 3339</ulink> profile of ISO 8601);
thus, in CET, the following are all identical:
<literal > Fri 2012-11-23 23:02:15 CET</literal> ,
<literal > Fri 2012-11-23T23:02:15</literal> ,
<literal > 2012-11-23T23:02:15 CET</literal> ,
<literal > 2012-11-23 23:02:15</literal> .</para>
<para > The timezone defaults to the current timezone if not specified explicitly.
It may be given after a space, like above, in which case it can be:
<literal > UTC</literal> ,
an entry in the installed IANA timezone database (<literal > CET</literal> , <literal > Asia/Tokyo</literal> , & c.;
complete list obtainable with <literal > timedatectl
2020-07-06 11:49:59 +03:00
list-timezones</literal> (see
2023-09-08 19:00:12 +03:00
<citerefentry > <refentrytitle > timedatectl</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 1</manvolnum> </citerefentry> )),
or <literal > ±<replaceable > 05</replaceable> </literal> ,
<literal > ±<replaceable > 05</replaceable> <replaceable > 30</replaceable> </literal> ,
<literal > ±<replaceable > 05</replaceable> :<replaceable > 30</replaceable> </literal> ,
<literal > Z</literal> .</para> <!-- glibc %z -->
<para > It may also be affixed directly to the timestamp, in which case it must correspond
to one of the formats defined in the
<ulink url= "https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3339" > RFC 3339</ulink> profile of ISO 8601:
<literal > ±<replaceable > 05</replaceable> :<replaceable > 30</replaceable> </literal> or <literal > Z</literal> .
Thus, the following are also identical to the above:
<literal > 2012-11-23T23:02:15+01:00</literal> ,
<literal > 2012-11-23 22:02:15Z</literal> .</para>
<para > A timestamp can start with a field containing a weekday, which can be in an abbreviated
2020-07-06 11:49:59 +03:00
(<literal > Wed</literal> ) or non-abbreviated (<literal > Wednesday</literal> ) English language form (case
2023-09-08 19:00:12 +03:00
does not matter), regardless of the locale.
However, if a weekday <emphasis > is</emphasis> specified and doesn't match the date, the timestamp is rejected.</para>
util-lib: make timestamp generation and parsing reversible (#3869)
This patch improves parsing and generation of timestamps and calendar
specifications in two ways:
- The week day is now always printed in the abbreviated English form, instead
of the locale's setting. This makes sure we can always parse the week day
again, even if the locale is changed. Given that we don't follow locale
settings for printing timestamps in any other way either (for example, we
always use 24h syntax in order to make uniform parsing possible), it only
makes sense to also stick to a generic, non-localized form for the timestamp,
too.
- When parsing a timestamp, the local timezone (in its DST or non-DST name)
may be specified, in addition to "UTC". Other timezones are still not
supported however (not because we wouldn't want to, but mostly because libc
offers no nice API for that). In itself this brings no new features, however
it ensures that any locally formatted timestamp's timezone is also parsable
again.
These two changes ensure that the output of format_timestamp() may always be
passed to parse_timestamp() and results in the original input. The related
flavours for usec/UTC also work accordingly. Calendar specifications are
extended in a similar way.
The man page is updated accordingly, in particular this removes the claim that
timestamps systemd prints wouldn't be parsable by systemd. They are now.
The man page previously showed invalid timestamps as examples. This has been
removed, as the man page shouldn't be a unit test, where such negative examples
would be useful. The man page also no longer mentions the names of internal
functions, such as format_timestamp_us() or UNIX error codes such as EINVAL.
2016-08-04 02:04:53 +03:00
2023-09-08 19:00:12 +03:00
<para > If the date is omitted, it defaults to today. If the time is omitted, it defaults to 00:00:00.
Fractional seconds can be specified down to 1µs precision. The seconds field can also be omitted, defaulting to 0.</para>
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
2023-09-08 19:00:12 +03:00
<para > There are special tokens that can be used in place of timestamps:
<literal > now</literal> may be
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
used to refer to the current time (or of the invocation of the
command that is currently executed). <literal > today</literal> ,
2014-08-03 09:11:37 +04:00
<literal > yesterday</literal> , and <literal > tomorrow</literal> refer to
2014-08-03 09:11:12 +04:00
00:00:00 of the current day, the day before, or the next day,
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
respectively.</para>
2023-09-08 19:00:12 +03:00
<para > Relative times are also accepted: a time span (see above) prefixed with
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
<literal > +</literal> is evaluated to the current time plus the
specified time span. Correspondingly, a time span that is prefixed
with <literal > -</literal> is evaluated to the current time minus
the specified time span. Instead of prefixing the time span with
<literal > +</literal> or <literal > -</literal> , it may also be
suffixed with a space and the word <literal > left</literal> or
<literal > ago</literal> .</para>
2023-09-08 19:00:12 +03:00
<para > Finally, an integer prefixed with <literal > @</literal> is
evaluated relative to the UNIX epoch – </para>
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
2019-11-12 19:52:35 +03:00
<para > Examples for valid timestamps and their normalized form (assuming the current time was 2012-11-23
18:15:22 and the timezone was UTC+8, for example <literal > TZ=:Asia/Shanghai</literal> ):</para>
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
2017-09-19 12:23:34 +03:00
<programlisting > Fri 2012-11-23 11:12:13 → Fri 2012-11-23 11:12:13
2012-11-23 11:12:13 → Fri 2012-11-23 11:12:13
2012-11-23 11:12:13 UTC → Fri 2012-11-23 19:12:13
parse_timestamp: accept RFC3339-style timezone and %FT%R[:%S[.%N]]
We basically parsed the RFC3339 format already, except with a space:
NOTE: ISO 8601 defines date and time separated by "T".
Applications using this syntax may choose, for the sake of
readability, to specify a full-date and full-time separated by
(say) a space character.
so now we handle both
2012-11-23 11:12:13.456
2012-11-23T11:12:13.456
as equivalent.
Parse directly-suffixed Z and +05:30 timezones as well:
2012-11-23T11:12:13.456Z
2012-11-23T11:12:13.456+02:00
as they're both defined by RFC3339.
We do /not/ allow z or t; the RFC says
NOTE: Per [ABNF] and ISO8601, the "T" and "Z" characters in this
syntax may alternatively be lower case "t" or "z" respectively.
This date/time format may be used in some environments or contexts
that distinguish between the upper- and lower-case letters 'A'-'Z'
and 'a'-'z' (e.g. XML). Specifications that use this format in
such environments MAY further limit the date/time syntax so that
the letters 'T' and 'Z' used in the date/time syntax must always
be upper case. Applications that generate this format SHOULD use
upper case letters.
We /are/ in a case-sensitive environment, neither are in wide-spread
use, and "z" poses an issue of whether "todayz" should be the same
as "todayZ" ("today UTC") or an error (it should be an error).
Fractional seconds are limited to six digits (they're nominally
time-secfrac = "." 1*DIGIT
), since we only support 1µs-resolution timestamps, and limit to six
digits in our other sub-second formats.
Parsing
2012-11-23T11:12
is an extension two ways (no seconds, no timezone),
mirroring our "canonical" format.
Fixes #5194
2023-09-03 23:34:41 +03:00
2012-11-23T11:12:13Z → Fri 2012-11-23 19:12:13
2012-11-23T11:12+02:00 → Fri 2012-11-23 17:12:00
2017-09-19 12:23:34 +03:00
2012-11-23 → Fri 2012-11-23 00:00:00
12-11-23 → Fri 2012-11-23 00:00:00
11:12:13 → Fri 2012-11-23 11:12:13
11:12 → Fri 2012-11-23 11:12:00
now → Fri 2012-11-23 18:15:22
today → Fri 2012-11-23 00:00:00
today UTC → Fri 2012-11-23 16:00:00
yesterday → Fri 2012-11-22 00:00:00
tomorrow → Fri 2012-11-24 00:00:00
tomorrow Pacific/Auckland → Thu 2012-11-23 19:00:00
+3h30min → Fri 2012-11-23 21:45:22
-5s → Fri 2012-11-23 18:15:17
11min ago → Fri 2012-11-23 18:04:22
@1395716396 → Tue 2014-03-25 03:59:56</programlisting>
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
util-lib: make timestamp generation and parsing reversible (#3869)
This patch improves parsing and generation of timestamps and calendar
specifications in two ways:
- The week day is now always printed in the abbreviated English form, instead
of the locale's setting. This makes sure we can always parse the week day
again, even if the locale is changed. Given that we don't follow locale
settings for printing timestamps in any other way either (for example, we
always use 24h syntax in order to make uniform parsing possible), it only
makes sense to also stick to a generic, non-localized form for the timestamp,
too.
- When parsing a timestamp, the local timezone (in its DST or non-DST name)
may be specified, in addition to "UTC". Other timezones are still not
supported however (not because we wouldn't want to, but mostly because libc
offers no nice API for that). In itself this brings no new features, however
it ensures that any locally formatted timestamp's timezone is also parsable
again.
These two changes ensure that the output of format_timestamp() may always be
passed to parse_timestamp() and results in the original input. The related
flavours for usec/UTC also work accordingly. Calendar specifications are
extended in a similar way.
The man page is updated accordingly, in particular this removes the claim that
timestamps systemd prints wouldn't be parsable by systemd. They are now.
The man page previously showed invalid timestamps as examples. This has been
removed, as the man page shouldn't be a unit test, where such negative examples
would be useful. The man page also no longer mentions the names of internal
functions, such as format_timestamp_us() or UNIX error codes such as EINVAL.
2016-08-04 02:04:53 +03:00
<para > Note that timestamps displayed by remote systems with a non-matching timezone are usually not parsable
locally, as the timezone component is not understood (unless it happens to be <literal > UTC</literal> ).</para>
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
util-lib: make timestamp generation and parsing reversible (#3869)
This patch improves parsing and generation of timestamps and calendar
specifications in two ways:
- The week day is now always printed in the abbreviated English form, instead
of the locale's setting. This makes sure we can always parse the week day
again, even if the locale is changed. Given that we don't follow locale
settings for printing timestamps in any other way either (for example, we
always use 24h syntax in order to make uniform parsing possible), it only
makes sense to also stick to a generic, non-localized form for the timestamp,
too.
- When parsing a timestamp, the local timezone (in its DST or non-DST name)
may be specified, in addition to "UTC". Other timezones are still not
supported however (not because we wouldn't want to, but mostly because libc
offers no nice API for that). In itself this brings no new features, however
it ensures that any locally formatted timestamp's timezone is also parsable
again.
These two changes ensure that the output of format_timestamp() may always be
passed to parse_timestamp() and results in the original input. The related
flavours for usec/UTC also work accordingly. Calendar specifications are
extended in a similar way.
The man page is updated accordingly, in particular this removes the claim that
timestamps systemd prints wouldn't be parsable by systemd. They are now.
The man page previously showed invalid timestamps as examples. This has been
removed, as the man page shouldn't be a unit test, where such negative examples
would be useful. The man page also no longer mentions the names of internal
functions, such as format_timestamp_us() or UNIX error codes such as EINVAL.
2016-08-04 02:04:53 +03:00
<para > Timestamps may also be specified with microsecond granularity. The sub-second remainder is expected separated
by a full stop from the seconds component. Example:</para>
<programlisting > 2014-03-25 03:59:56.654563</programlisting>
<para > In some cases, systemd will display a relative timestamp (relative to the current time, or the time of
invocation of the command) instead of or in addition to an absolute timestamp as described above. A relative
timestamp is formatted as follows:</para>
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
util-lib: make timestamp generation and parsing reversible (#3869)
This patch improves parsing and generation of timestamps and calendar
specifications in two ways:
- The week day is now always printed in the abbreviated English form, instead
of the locale's setting. This makes sure we can always parse the week day
again, even if the locale is changed. Given that we don't follow locale
settings for printing timestamps in any other way either (for example, we
always use 24h syntax in order to make uniform parsing possible), it only
makes sense to also stick to a generic, non-localized form for the timestamp,
too.
- When parsing a timestamp, the local timezone (in its DST or non-DST name)
may be specified, in addition to "UTC". Other timezones are still not
supported however (not because we wouldn't want to, but mostly because libc
offers no nice API for that). In itself this brings no new features, however
it ensures that any locally formatted timestamp's timezone is also parsable
again.
These two changes ensure that the output of format_timestamp() may always be
passed to parse_timestamp() and results in the original input. The related
flavours for usec/UTC also work accordingly. Calendar specifications are
extended in a similar way.
The man page is updated accordingly, in particular this removes the claim that
timestamps systemd prints wouldn't be parsable by systemd. They are now.
The man page previously showed invalid timestamps as examples. This has been
removed, as the man page shouldn't be a unit test, where such negative examples
would be useful. The man page also no longer mentions the names of internal
functions, such as format_timestamp_us() or UNIX error codes such as EINVAL.
2016-08-04 02:04:53 +03:00
<programlisting > 2 months 5 days ago</programlisting>
2015-02-04 05:14:13 +03:00
util-lib: make timestamp generation and parsing reversible (#3869)
This patch improves parsing and generation of timestamps and calendar
specifications in two ways:
- The week day is now always printed in the abbreviated English form, instead
of the locale's setting. This makes sure we can always parse the week day
again, even if the locale is changed. Given that we don't follow locale
settings for printing timestamps in any other way either (for example, we
always use 24h syntax in order to make uniform parsing possible), it only
makes sense to also stick to a generic, non-localized form for the timestamp,
too.
- When parsing a timestamp, the local timezone (in its DST or non-DST name)
may be specified, in addition to "UTC". Other timezones are still not
supported however (not because we wouldn't want to, but mostly because libc
offers no nice API for that). In itself this brings no new features, however
it ensures that any locally formatted timestamp's timezone is also parsable
again.
These two changes ensure that the output of format_timestamp() may always be
passed to parse_timestamp() and results in the original input. The related
flavours for usec/UTC also work accordingly. Calendar specifications are
extended in a similar way.
The man page is updated accordingly, in particular this removes the claim that
timestamps systemd prints wouldn't be parsable by systemd. They are now.
The man page previously showed invalid timestamps as examples. This has been
removed, as the man page shouldn't be a unit test, where such negative examples
would be useful. The man page also no longer mentions the names of internal
functions, such as format_timestamp_us() or UNIX error codes such as EINVAL.
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<para > Note that a relative timestamp is also accepted where a timestamp is expected (see above).</para>
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<para > Use the <command > timestamp</command> command of
<citerefentry > <refentrytitle > systemd-analyze</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 1</manvolnum> </citerefentry> to
validate and normalize timestamps for testing purposes.</para>
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</refsect1>
<refsect1 >
<title > Calendar Events</title>
<para > Calendar events may be used to refer to one or more points
in time in a single expression. They form a superset of the
absolute timestamps explained above:</para>
<programlisting > Thu,Fri 2012-*-1,5 11:12:13</programlisting>
<para > The above refers to 11:12:13 of the first or fifth day of
any month of the year 2012, but only if that day is a Thursday or
Friday.</para>
<para > The weekday specification is optional. If specified, it
should consist of one or more English language weekday names,
either in the abbreviated (Wed) or non-abbreviated (Wednesday)
form (case does not matter), separated by commas. Specifying two
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weekdays separated by <literal > ..</literal> refers to a range of
continuous weekdays. <literal > ,</literal> and <literal > ..</literal>
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may be combined freely.</para>
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<para > In the date and time specifications, any component may be specified as <literal > *</literal> in
which case any value will match. Alternatively, each component can be specified as a list of values
separated by commas. Values may be suffixed with <literal > /</literal> and a repetition value, which
indicates that the value itself and the value plus all multiples of the repetition value are matched.
Two values separated by <literal > ..</literal> may be used to indicate a range of values; ranges may also
be followed with <literal > /</literal> and a repetition value, in which case the expression matches all
times starting with the start value, and continuing with all multiples of the repetition value relative
to the start value, ending at the end value the latest.</para>
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<para > A date specification may use <literal > ~</literal> to indicate the last day in a month. For example,
<literal > *-02~03</literal> means "the third last day in February," and <literal > Mon *-05~07/1</literal>
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means "the last Monday in May."</para>
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<para > The seconds component may contain decimal fractions both in
the value and the repetition. All fractions are rounded to 6
decimal places.</para>
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<para > Either time or date specification may be omitted, in which
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case *-*-* and 00:00:00 is implied, respectively. If the
seconds component is not specified, <literal > :00</literal> is
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assumed.</para>
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<para > Timezone can be specified as the literal string <literal > UTC</literal> , or
the local timezone, similar to the supported syntax of timestamps (see above), or the timezone
in the IANA timezone database format (also see above).</para>
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<para > The following special expressions may be used as shorthands for longer normalized forms:</para>
<programlisting > minutely → *-*-*
hourly → *-*-*
daily → *-*-*
monthly → *-*-01
weekly → Mon *-*-*
yearly → *-01-01
quarterly → *-01,04,07,10-01 00:00:00
semiannually → *-01,07-01 00:00:00
</programlisting>
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<para > Examples for valid timestamps and their
normalized form:</para>
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util-lib: make timestamp generation and parsing reversible (#3869)
This patch improves parsing and generation of timestamps and calendar
specifications in two ways:
- The week day is now always printed in the abbreviated English form, instead
of the locale's setting. This makes sure we can always parse the week day
again, even if the locale is changed. Given that we don't follow locale
settings for printing timestamps in any other way either (for example, we
always use 24h syntax in order to make uniform parsing possible), it only
makes sense to also stick to a generic, non-localized form for the timestamp,
too.
- When parsing a timestamp, the local timezone (in its DST or non-DST name)
may be specified, in addition to "UTC". Other timezones are still not
supported however (not because we wouldn't want to, but mostly because libc
offers no nice API for that). In itself this brings no new features, however
it ensures that any locally formatted timestamp's timezone is also parsable
again.
These two changes ensure that the output of format_timestamp() may always be
passed to parse_timestamp() and results in the original input. The related
flavours for usec/UTC also work accordingly. Calendar specifications are
extended in a similar way.
The man page is updated accordingly, in particular this removes the claim that
timestamps systemd prints wouldn't be parsable by systemd. They are now.
The man page previously showed invalid timestamps as examples. This has been
removed, as the man page shouldn't be a unit test, where such negative examples
would be useful. The man page also no longer mentions the names of internal
functions, such as format_timestamp_us() or UNIX error codes such as EINVAL.
2016-08-04 02:04:53 +03:00
<programlisting > Sat,Thu,Mon..Wed,Sat..Sun → Mon..Thu,Sat,Sun *-*-* 00:00:00
Mon,Sun 12-*-* 2,1:23 → Mon,Sun 2012-*-* 01,02:23:00
Wed *-1 → Wed *-*-01 00:00:00
2016-07-01 05:26:07 +03:00
Wed..Wed,Wed *-1 → Wed *-*-01 00:00:00
util-lib: make timestamp generation and parsing reversible (#3869)
This patch improves parsing and generation of timestamps and calendar
specifications in two ways:
- The week day is now always printed in the abbreviated English form, instead
of the locale's setting. This makes sure we can always parse the week day
again, even if the locale is changed. Given that we don't follow locale
settings for printing timestamps in any other way either (for example, we
always use 24h syntax in order to make uniform parsing possible), it only
makes sense to also stick to a generic, non-localized form for the timestamp,
too.
- When parsing a timestamp, the local timezone (in its DST or non-DST name)
may be specified, in addition to "UTC". Other timezones are still not
supported however (not because we wouldn't want to, but mostly because libc
offers no nice API for that). In itself this brings no new features, however
it ensures that any locally formatted timestamp's timezone is also parsable
again.
These two changes ensure that the output of format_timestamp() may always be
passed to parse_timestamp() and results in the original input. The related
flavours for usec/UTC also work accordingly. Calendar specifications are
extended in a similar way.
The man page is updated accordingly, in particular this removes the claim that
timestamps systemd prints wouldn't be parsable by systemd. They are now.
The man page previously showed invalid timestamps as examples. This has been
removed, as the man page shouldn't be a unit test, where such negative examples
would be useful. The man page also no longer mentions the names of internal
functions, such as format_timestamp_us() or UNIX error codes such as EINVAL.
2016-08-04 02:04:53 +03:00
Wed, 17:48 → Wed *-*-* 17:48:00
2016-07-01 05:26:07 +03:00
Wed..Sat,Tue 12-10-15 1:2:3 → Tue..Sat 2012-10-15 01:02:03
util-lib: make timestamp generation and parsing reversible (#3869)
This patch improves parsing and generation of timestamps and calendar
specifications in two ways:
- The week day is now always printed in the abbreviated English form, instead
of the locale's setting. This makes sure we can always parse the week day
again, even if the locale is changed. Given that we don't follow locale
settings for printing timestamps in any other way either (for example, we
always use 24h syntax in order to make uniform parsing possible), it only
makes sense to also stick to a generic, non-localized form for the timestamp,
too.
- When parsing a timestamp, the local timezone (in its DST or non-DST name)
may be specified, in addition to "UTC". Other timezones are still not
supported however (not because we wouldn't want to, but mostly because libc
offers no nice API for that). In itself this brings no new features, however
it ensures that any locally formatted timestamp's timezone is also parsable
again.
These two changes ensure that the output of format_timestamp() may always be
passed to parse_timestamp() and results in the original input. The related
flavours for usec/UTC also work accordingly. Calendar specifications are
extended in a similar way.
The man page is updated accordingly, in particular this removes the claim that
timestamps systemd prints wouldn't be parsable by systemd. They are now.
The man page previously showed invalid timestamps as examples. This has been
removed, as the man page shouldn't be a unit test, where such negative examples
would be useful. The man page also no longer mentions the names of internal
functions, such as format_timestamp_us() or UNIX error codes such as EINVAL.
2016-08-04 02:04:53 +03:00
*-*-7 0:0:0 → *-*-07 00:00:00
10-15 → *-10-15 00:00:00
monday *-12-* 17:00 → Mon *-12-* 17:00:00
Mon,Fri *-*-3,1,2 *:30:45 → Mon,Fri *-*-01,02,03 *:30:45
12,14,13,12:20,10,30 → *-*-* 12,13,14:10,20,30:00
2016-11-24 23:41:04 +03:00
12..14:10,20,30 → *-*-* 12..14:10,20,30:00
util-lib: make timestamp generation and parsing reversible (#3869)
This patch improves parsing and generation of timestamps and calendar
specifications in two ways:
- The week day is now always printed in the abbreviated English form, instead
of the locale's setting. This makes sure we can always parse the week day
again, even if the locale is changed. Given that we don't follow locale
settings for printing timestamps in any other way either (for example, we
always use 24h syntax in order to make uniform parsing possible), it only
makes sense to also stick to a generic, non-localized form for the timestamp,
too.
- When parsing a timestamp, the local timezone (in its DST or non-DST name)
may be specified, in addition to "UTC". Other timezones are still not
supported however (not because we wouldn't want to, but mostly because libc
offers no nice API for that). In itself this brings no new features, however
it ensures that any locally formatted timestamp's timezone is also parsable
again.
These two changes ensure that the output of format_timestamp() may always be
passed to parse_timestamp() and results in the original input. The related
flavours for usec/UTC also work accordingly. Calendar specifications are
extended in a similar way.
The man page is updated accordingly, in particular this removes the claim that
timestamps systemd prints wouldn't be parsable by systemd. They are now.
The man page previously showed invalid timestamps as examples. This has been
removed, as the man page shouldn't be a unit test, where such negative examples
would be useful. The man page also no longer mentions the names of internal
functions, such as format_timestamp_us() or UNIX error codes such as EINVAL.
2016-08-04 02:04:53 +03:00
mon,fri *-1/2-1,3 *:30:45 → Mon,Fri *-01/2-01,03 *:30:45
03-05 08:05:40 → *-03-05 08:05:40
08:05:40 → *-*-* 08:05:40
05:40 → *-*-* 05:40:00
Sat,Sun 12-05 08:05:40 → Sat,Sun *-12-05 08:05:40
Sat,Sun 08:05:40 → Sat,Sun *-*-* 08:05:40
2003-03-05 05:40 → 2003-03-05 05:40:00
2016-12-16 04:02:10 +03:00
05:40:23.4200004/3.1700005 → *-*-* 05:40:23.420000/3.170001
2016-11-24 23:41:04 +03:00
2003-02..04-05 → 2003-02..04-05 00:00:00
util-lib: make timestamp generation and parsing reversible (#3869)
This patch improves parsing and generation of timestamps and calendar
specifications in two ways:
- The week day is now always printed in the abbreviated English form, instead
of the locale's setting. This makes sure we can always parse the week day
again, even if the locale is changed. Given that we don't follow locale
settings for printing timestamps in any other way either (for example, we
always use 24h syntax in order to make uniform parsing possible), it only
makes sense to also stick to a generic, non-localized form for the timestamp,
too.
- When parsing a timestamp, the local timezone (in its DST or non-DST name)
may be specified, in addition to "UTC". Other timezones are still not
supported however (not because we wouldn't want to, but mostly because libc
offers no nice API for that). In itself this brings no new features, however
it ensures that any locally formatted timestamp's timezone is also parsable
again.
These two changes ensure that the output of format_timestamp() may always be
passed to parse_timestamp() and results in the original input. The related
flavours for usec/UTC also work accordingly. Calendar specifications are
extended in a similar way.
The man page is updated accordingly, in particular this removes the claim that
timestamps systemd prints wouldn't be parsable by systemd. They are now.
The man page previously showed invalid timestamps as examples. This has been
removed, as the man page shouldn't be a unit test, where such negative examples
would be useful. The man page also no longer mentions the names of internal
functions, such as format_timestamp_us() or UNIX error codes such as EINVAL.
2016-08-04 02:04:53 +03:00
2003-03-05 05:40 UTC → 2003-03-05 05:40:00 UTC
2003-03-05 → 2003-03-05 00:00:00
03-05 → *-03-05 00:00:00
hourly → *-*-* *:00:00
daily → *-*-* 00:00:00
daily UTC → *-*-* 00:00:00 UTC
monthly → *-*-01 00:00:00
weekly → Mon *-*-* 00:00:00
2017-09-19 12:23:34 +03:00
weekly Pacific/Auckland → Mon *-*-* 00:00:00 Pacific/Auckland
util-lib: make timestamp generation and parsing reversible (#3869)
This patch improves parsing and generation of timestamps and calendar
specifications in two ways:
- The week day is now always printed in the abbreviated English form, instead
of the locale's setting. This makes sure we can always parse the week day
again, even if the locale is changed. Given that we don't follow locale
settings for printing timestamps in any other way either (for example, we
always use 24h syntax in order to make uniform parsing possible), it only
makes sense to also stick to a generic, non-localized form for the timestamp,
too.
- When parsing a timestamp, the local timezone (in its DST or non-DST name)
may be specified, in addition to "UTC". Other timezones are still not
supported however (not because we wouldn't want to, but mostly because libc
offers no nice API for that). In itself this brings no new features, however
it ensures that any locally formatted timestamp's timezone is also parsable
again.
These two changes ensure that the output of format_timestamp() may always be
passed to parse_timestamp() and results in the original input. The related
flavours for usec/UTC also work accordingly. Calendar specifications are
extended in a similar way.
The man page is updated accordingly, in particular this removes the claim that
timestamps systemd prints wouldn't be parsable by systemd. They are now.
The man page previously showed invalid timestamps as examples. This has been
removed, as the man page shouldn't be a unit test, where such negative examples
would be useful. The man page also no longer mentions the names of internal
functions, such as format_timestamp_us() or UNIX error codes such as EINVAL.
2016-08-04 02:04:53 +03:00
yearly → *-01-01 00:00:00
annually → *-01-01 00:00:00
*:2/3 → *-*-* *:02/3:00</programlisting>
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<para > Calendar events are used by timer units, see
<citerefentry > <refentrytitle > systemd.timer</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 5</manvolnum> </citerefentry>
for details.</para>
2017-11-17 12:33:22 +03:00
<para > Use the <command > calendar</command> command of
<citerefentry > <refentrytitle > systemd-analyze</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 1</manvolnum> </citerefentry> to validate
and normalize calendar time specifications for testing purposes. The tool also calculates when a specified
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calendar event would occur next.</para>
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</refsect1>
<refsect1 >
<title > See Also</title>
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<para > <simplelist type= "inline" >
<member > <citerefentry > <refentrytitle > systemd</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 1</manvolnum> </citerefentry> </member>
<member > <citerefentry > <refentrytitle > journalctl</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 1</manvolnum> </citerefentry> </member>
<member > <citerefentry > <refentrytitle > systemd.timer</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 5</manvolnum> </citerefentry> </member>
<member > <citerefentry > <refentrytitle > systemd.unit</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 5</manvolnum> </citerefentry> </member>
<member > <citerefentry > <refentrytitle > systemd.directives</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 7</manvolnum> </citerefentry> </member>
<member > <citerefentry > <refentrytitle > systemd-analyze</refentrytitle> <manvolnum > 1</manvolnum> </citerefentry> </member>
</simplelist> </para>
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</refsect1>
2012-11-24 03:24:14 +04:00
</refentry>
