CkDateTime ActiveX Reference Documentation

CkDateTime

Current Version: 10.1.2

A class for holding a date/time value, and for converting it to from many different formats. The power of this class is that the different date/time formats are implemented across many different operating systems. Many formats specific to Windows are available on Mac OS X, Linux/Unix, etc., and vice-versa. To convert a date/time from one format to another, simply set via one format, and get via another format. This is a freeware class because it is used by many commercial Chilkat components/libs.

Object Creation

Note:
For versions of Chilkat < 10.0.0, use "Chilkat_9_5_0.CkDateTime" instead of "Chilkat.CkDateTime"
For a specific major version, use "Chilkat.CkDateTime.<major_version>", such as "Chilkat.CkDateTime.10" for Chilkat v10.*.*
See Chilkat ActiveX Object Creation

(ASP)
set obj = Server.CreateObject("Chilkat.CkDateTime")

(AutoIt)
$obj = ObjCreate("Chilkat.CkDateTime")

(Visual Basic 6.0)
Dim obj As New CkDateTime

(VBScript)
set obj = CreateObject("Chilkat.CkDateTime")

(Delphi)
obj := TCkDateTime.Create(Self);

(FoxPro)
loObject = CreateObject('Chilkat.CkDateTime')

(PowerBuilder)
lole_object = create oleobject
li_rc = lole_object.ConnectToNewObject("Chilkat.CkDateTime")

(SQL Server)
EXEC @hr = sp_OACreate 'Chilkat.CkDateTime', @obj OUT

(Javascript)
var obj = new ActiveXObject("Chilkat.CkDateTime");

Properties

DebugLogFilePath
DebugLogFilePath As String

If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.

Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.

Possible causes of hangs include:

  • A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
  • A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
  • An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.

top
IsDst
IsDst As Long (read-only)

This is the Daylight Saving Time flag. It can have one of three possible values: 1, 0, or -1. It has the value 1 if Daylight Saving Time is in effect, 0 if Daylight Saving Time is not in effect, and -1 if the information is not available.

Note: This is NOT the DST for the current system time. It is the DST that was in effect at the date value contained in this object.

top
LastBinaryResult
LastBinaryResult As Variant (read-only)

This property is mainly used in SQL Server stored procedures to retrieve binary data from the last method call that returned binary data. It is only accessible if Chilkat.Global.KeepBinaryResult is set to 1. This feature allows for the retrieval of large varbinary results in an SQL Server environment, which has restrictions on returning large data via method calls, though temp tables can handle binary properties.

top
LastErrorHtml
LastErrorHtml As String (read-only)

Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

top
LastErrorText
LastErrorText As String (read-only)

Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

top
LastErrorXml
LastErrorXml As String (read-only)

Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

top
LastMethodSuccess
LastMethodSuccess As Long

Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: 1 means success, 0 means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages.

top
LastStringResult
LastStringResult As String (read-only)

In SQL Server stored procedures, this property holds the string return value of the most recent method call that returns a string. It is accessible only when Chilkat.Global.KeepStringResult is set to TRUE. SQL Server has limitations on string lengths returned from methods and properties, but temp tables can be used to access large strings.

top
LastStringResultLen
LastStringResultLen As Long (read-only)

The length, in characters, of the string contained in the LastStringResult property.

top
UtcOffset
UtcOffset As Long (read-only)

For the current system's timezone, returns the number of seconds offset from UTC for this date/time. The offset includes daylight savings adjustment. Local timezones west of UTC return a negative offset.

top
VerboseLogging
VerboseLogging As Long

If set to 1, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is 0. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

top
Version
Version As String (read-only)

Version of the component/library, such as "10.1.0"

top

Methods

AddDays
AddDays(ByVal numDays As Long) As Long

Adds an integer number of days to the date/time. To subtract days, pass a negative integer.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

top
AddSeconds
AddSeconds(ByVal numSeconds As Long) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.65

Adds an integer number of seconds to the date/time. To subtract seconds, pass a negative integer.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

top
DeSerialize
DeSerialize(serializedDateTime As String)

Loads the date/time with a string having the format as produced by the Serialize method, which is a string of SPACE separated integers containing (in this order) year, month, day, hour, minutes, seconds, and a UTC flag having the value of 1/0.

top
DiffSeconds
DiffSeconds(dateTimeArg As CkDateTime) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.65

Returns the difference in seconds between the dateTimeArg and this date/time. The value returned is this object's date/time - dateTimeArg's date/time. For example, if the returned value is positive, then this object's date/time is more recent than dateTimeArg's date/time. If the return value is negative, then this object's date/time is older than dateTimeArg's date/time.

top
ExpiresWithin
ExpiresWithin(ByVal n As Long, units As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.67

Returns 1 if the date/time is within n seconds/minutes/hours/days of the current system date/time. Otherwise returns 0. The units can be "seconds", "minutes", "hours", or "days" (plural or singular).

top
GetAsDateTime
GetAsDateTime(ByVal bLocal As Long) As Date

Returns the date/time in a native format. The .NET implementation returns a .NET System.DateTime structure. The ActiveX implementation returns a Date object. The C/C++ implementation (and others) returns the date/time in a SYSTEMTIME structure. On Windows, SYSTEMTIME is defined at SYSTEMTIME. On non-Windows systems, Chilkat provides a SYSTEMTIME structure definition in SystemTime.h.

bLocal indicates whether a local or UTC time is returned.

top
GetAsDosDate
GetAsDosDate(ByVal bLocal As Long) As Long

Returns the date/time as a 32-bit DOS date/time bitmask.

bLocal indicates whether a local or UTC time is returned.

The DOS date/time format is a bitmask:


			   24                16                 8                 0
	    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
	    |Y|Y|Y|Y|Y|Y|Y|M| |M|M|M|D|D|D|D|D| |h|h|h|h|h|m|m|m| |m|m|m|s|s|s|s|s|
	    +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
	     \___________/\________/\_________/ \________/\____________/\_________/
		 year        month       day      hour       minute        second

The year is stored as an offset from 1980. Seconds are stored in two-second increments. (So if the "second" value is 15, it actually represents 30 seconds.)

top
GetAsIso8601
GetAsIso8601(formatStr As String, ByVal bLocal As Long) As String
Introduced in version 9.5.0.65

Returns the date/time in a compatible ISO 8601 format according to the format specified in formatStr.. Examples of ISO 8601 formats include the following:

    YYYY-MM-DD

    YYYY-MM-DDThh:mmTZD

    YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssTZD
For the date portion of these formats, YYYY is a four-digit year representation, MM is a two-digit month representation, and DD is a two-digit day representation. For the time portion, hh is the hour representation in 24-hour notation, mm is the two-digit minute representation, and ss is the two-digit second representation. A time designator T separates the date and time portions of the string, while a time zone designator TZD specifies a time zone (UTC).

bLocal indicates whether a local or UTC time is returned.

Note: The bLocal argument is interpreted as the reverse of what is intended . The problem was discovered just after releasing v9.5.0.65. It will be fixed in the next version update.

Returns Nothing on failure

top
GetAsOleDate
GetAsOleDate(ByVal bLocal As Long) As Double

Returns the date/time in a Windows OLE "DATE" format.

bLocal indicates whether a local or UTC time is returned.

The OLE automation date format is a floating point value, counting days since midnight 30 December 1899. Hours and minutes are represented as fractional days.

More Information and Examples
top
GetAsRfc822
GetAsRfc822(ByVal bLocal As Long) As String

Returns the date/time as an RFC822 formatted string. (An RFC822 format string is what is found in the "Date" header field of an email, such as "Wed, 18 Oct 2017 09:08:21 GMT".)

bLocal indicates whether a local or UTC time is returned.

Returns Nothing on failure

top
GetAsTimestamp
GetAsTimestamp(ByVal bLocal As Long) As String
Introduced in version 9.5.0.58

Returns the date/time as an RFC 3339 formatted string, such as "1990-12-31T23:59:60Z". (This is an ISO 8061 format like the following: YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssTZD)

bLocal indicates whether a local or UTC time is returned.

Returns Nothing on failure

top
GetAsUnixTime
GetAsUnixTime(ByVal bLocal As Long) As Long

Returns the date/time as a 32-bit Unix time.

bLocal indicates whether the date/time returned is local or UTC.

Note: With this format, there is a Y2038 problem that pertains to 32-bit signed integers. There are approx 31.5 million seconds per year. The Unix time is number of seconds since the Epoch, 1970-01-01 00:00:00 +0000 (UTC). In 2012, it's 42 years since 1/1/1970, so the number of seconds is approx 1.3 billion. A 32-bit signed integer ranges from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647 Therefore, if a 32-bit signed integer is used, it turns negative in 2038.

The GetAsUnixTime64 and GetAsUnixTimeDbl methods are provided as solutions to the Y2038 problem.

(Note: The ActiveX Chilkat implementation omits methods that use 64-bit integers because there is no means for passing or returning 64-bit integers in ActiveX.)

top
GetAsUnixTimeStr
GetAsUnixTimeStr(ByVal bLocal As Long) As String
Introduced in version 9.5.0.65

Returns the time in Unix format (in seconds since the epoch: 00:00:00 UTC on 1 January 1970).

bLocal indicates whether the date/time returned is local or UTC.

Returns Nothing on failure

top
GetDtObj
GetDtObj(ByVal bLocal As Long) As DtObj
Introduced in version 9.5.0.47

Gets the date/time as a Chilkat "Dt" object.

Returns Nothing on failure

top
LoadTaskResult
LoadTaskResult(task As ChilkatTask) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

Loads the date/time from a completed asynchronous task.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

top
OlderThan
OlderThan(ByVal n As Long, units As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.67

Returns 1 if the date/time is older than the current system date/time by n seconds/minutes/hours/days. Otherwise returns 0. The units can be "seconds", "minutes", "hours", or "days" (plural or singular).

top
Serialize
Serialize() As String

Serializes the date/time to a us-ascii string that can be imported at a later time via the DeSerialize method. The format of the string returned by this method is not intended to match any published standard. It is formatted to a string with SPACE separated integers containing (in this order) year, month, day, hour, minutes, seconds, and a UTC flag having the value of 1 or 0.

Returns Nothing on failure

top
SetFromCurrentSystemTime
SetFromCurrentSystemTime() As Long

Sets the date/time from the current system time.

top
SetFromDosDate
SetFromDosDate(ByVal bLocal As Long, ByVal t As Long) As Long

Sets the date/time from a 32-bit DOS date/time bitmask. See GetAsDosDate for more information.

top
SetFromDtObj
SetFromDtObj(dt As DtObj) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.47

Sets the date/time from a Chilkat "Dt" object.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

top
SetFromNtpServer
SetFromNtpServer(jsonStr As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.96

Sets the date/time by sending a query to an NTP server.

Note: The SetFromNtpServer method is available starting in v9.5.0.96 for most Chilkat builds, but not all. If the SetFromNtpServer method is not present, contact support@chilkatsoft.com for a hotfix build. It should be available in all programming languages/platforms starting in v9.5.0.97

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

top
SetFromNtpTime
SetFromNtpTime(ByVal ntpSeconds As Long) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.50

Sets the date/time from a 32-bit NTP time value. ntpSeconds is the number of seconds since 00:00 (midnight) 1 January 1900 GMT.

top
SetFromOleDate
SetFromOleDate(ByVal bLocal As Long, ByVal dt As Double) As Long

Sets the date/time from a Windows OLE "DATE" value.

bLocal indicates whether the passed in date/time is local or UTC.

Note: This method was not working correctly. The problem was discovered just after releasing v9.5.0.65. It will be fixed in the next version update.

top
SetFromRfc822
SetFromRfc822(rfc822Str As String) As Long

Sets the date/time from an RFC822 date/time formatted string. Here are some examples of RFC822 formatted date/times:

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 22:00:58 +0000
Tue, 15 Nov 2022 20:21:50 +0100
Tue, 01 Nov 2022 18:09:41 -0600

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

top
SetFromTimestamp
SetFromTimestamp(timestamp As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.58

Sets the date/time from an RFC 3339 timestamp format. (such as "1990-12-31T23:59:60Z:")

(This is an ISO 8061 format like the following: YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssTZD)

Note: Starting in v9.5.0.77, strings formatted as "YYMMDDhhmmssZ", such as "181221132225Z", can also be passed to this method.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

top
SetFromUlid
SetFromUlid(ByVal bLocal As Long, ulid As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.94

Sets this object's date/time using the timestamp embedded in the ulid. If the ulid was not a valid ULID, returns 0 and the date/time is not set. bLocal indicates whether the ulid uses a local time or UTC time.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

top
SetFromUnixTime
SetFromUnixTime(ByVal bLocal As Long, ByVal t As Long) As Long

Sets the date/time from a 32-bit UNIX time value. (See GetAsUnixTime for information about the Y2038 problem.)

bLocal indicates whether the passed in date/time is local or UTC.

top
UlidGenerate
UlidGenerate(ByVal bLocal As Long) As String
Introduced in version 9.5.0.94

Generates and returns a new ULID using this object's date/time value. bLocal indicates whether to use local time or UTC time.

Returns Nothing on failure

top
UlidIncrement
UlidIncrement(ulid As ChilkatStringBuilder) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.94

Increments the ULID that is passed in ulid.

top
UlidValidate
UlidValidate(ulid As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.94

Validates the ulid. Returns 1 if the ulid is valid, otherwise returns 0.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

top