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The LA Fox Developer Newsletter
December 1997
Returning a Character Date in
any Format Specified
by Leslie Stevens of Edmonton, Alberta Canada.
EXAMPLE:
cDate ( ‘DDD.’, {12/09/1996})
will giveyou: Thu.
PROGRAM:
CDATE
AUTHORS:
Joe Friedel and Leslie Stevens.
WRITTEN:
September 12, 1996.
REMARKS:
This program will return a character date in any format
that you specify.


FORMAT:
cDate ( (cMask,] (dDate]
where: dDate is the “Date” that you want converted
(the default is date0).

Mask is the character mask for converting the date
(the default is the dtoc() function).

Mask characters that wU! ba converted are;


Mask Returns


"YYYY" 4 character year

last 2 characters of the year

“MMMM” month name

“MMM” first 3 characters of month name

month number

day of the week

“DDD” first 3 characters of day of week

‘DD” day number


EXAMPLE:
cDate (“DDDD, MMMM DD, "YYYY", (12/09/1996)
will give you: Thursday, September 12, 1996


EXAMPLE:
cDate ( "MMM.DD/YY", (12/09/1996))
will give you: Sep.12/96
FUNCTION cdate LPARAMETERS cMask, dDate if parameters() = 0
return dtoc(dateO)
endif
if parameters() = I
if type(’cMask’) =
dDate = cMask
cMask =
return dtoc(dDate) else
dDate = date()
endif
endif
if empty(dDate)
return
endif
if type(’cMask’) <> ‘C’
clear typeahead
=messagebox(”Invalid parameter (#1 cMask) passed to CDATE function!”,16,”Programmer Error”)
return
endif
if type(’dDate’) <> ‘D’
clear typeahead
=messagebox(”Invalid parameter (#2 dDate) passed to CDATE function!",16,"Programmer Error”)
return
endif
cMask = upper(cMask)
cMask = strtran(cMask,”YYYY”,ltrim(str(year(dDate))))
cMask =
(strtran(cMask,"YY",padl(ltrim(right(str(year(dDate)),2)),2,'0'))
*
OR: cMask = strtran(cMask,”YY”,right(str(year(dDate)),2))
cMask = strtran(cMask,”MMMM”,cmonth(dDate))
cMask = strtran(cMask,”MMM”,left(cmonth(dDate),3))
cMask = strtran(cMask,”MM”,padl(ltrim(str(month(dDate),2)),2,’O’))
*
OR: cMask = strtran(cMask,”MM”,ltrim(str(month(dDate),2)))
cMask = strtran(cMask,”DDDD”,cdow(dDate))
cMask = strtran(cMask,”DDD”,left(cdow(dDate),3))
cMask = strtran(cMask,”DD’,padl(ltrim(str(day(doate),2)),2,’O’))
*
OR: cMask = strtran(cMask,”DD”,Itrim(str(day(doate),2)))
RETURN cMask


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