GETDATE(E)          Linux Programmer's Manual          GETDATE(E)



NAME
       getdate() - convert a string to struct tm

SYNOPSIS
       #define _XOPEN_SOURCE
       #define _XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED
       #include <time.h>

       struct tm *getdate (const char *string);

       extern int getdate_err;


       #define _GNU_SOURCE
       #include <time.h>

       int getdate_r (const char *string, struct tm *res);

DESCRIPTION
       The  function  getdate()  converts  a string pointed to by
       string into the tm structure that  it  returns.   This  tm
       structure  may be found in static storage, so that it will
       be overwritten by the next call.

       In contrast to strptime(e), (which has a format argument),
       getdate()  uses the formats found in the file of which the
       full path  name  is  given  in  the  environment  variable
       DATEMSK.   The  first  line  in  the file that matches the
       given input string is used for the conversion.

       The matching  is  done  case  insensitively.   Superfluous
       whitespace,  either  in the pattern or in the string to be
       converted, is ignored.

       The conversion specifications that a pattern  can  contain
       are  those  given  for  strptime(e).   One more conversion
       specification is accepted:

       %Z     Timezone name.

       When %Z is given, the value to be returned is  initialised
       to  the broken-down time corresponding to the current time
       in the given time zone.  Otherwise, it is  initialised  to
       the  broken-down  time  corresponding to the current local
       time.

       When only the weekday is given, the day is taken to be the
       first such day on or after today.

       When  only  the month is given (and no year), the month is
       taken to be the first such month equal  to  or  after  the
       current month.  If no day is given, it is the first day of
       the month.

       When no hour, minute and second  are  given,  the  current
       hour, minute and second are taken.

       If  no date is given, but we know the hour, then that hour
       is taken to be the first such hour equal to or  after  the
       current hour.

RETURN VALUE
       When  successful,  this  function  returns  a pointer to a
       struct tm.  Otherwise, it returns NULL and sets the global
       variable  getdate_err.   Changes to errno are unspecified.
       The following values for getdate_err are defined:

       1   The DATEMSK environment variable is null or undefined.

       2   The template file cannot be opened for reading.

       3   Failed to get file status information.

       4   The template file is not a regular file.

       5   An  error  is  encountered  while reading the template
           file.

       6   Memory allocation failed  (not  enough  memory  avail-
           able).

       7   There is no line in the file that matches the input.

       8   Invalid input specification.

NOTES
       Since  getdate()  is  not  reentrant because of the use of
       getdate_err and the static buffer to return the result in,
       glibc  provides  a thread-safe variant.  The functionality
       is the same.  The result is returned in the buffer pointed
       to  by  res  and  in  case of an error the return value is
       nonzero with the same  values  as  given  above  for  get-
       date_err.

       The  POSIX  1003.1-2001  specification for strptime() con-
       tains conversion specifications using the %E or  %O  modi-
       fier,  while  such  specifications  are not given for get-
       date().  The  glibc  implementation  implements  getdate()
       using  strptime() so that automatically precisely the same
       conversions are supported by both.

       The glibc implementation does not support the  %Z  conver-
       sion specification.

ENVIRONMENT
       DATEMSK
              File containing format patterns.

       TZ, LC_TIME
              Variables used by strptime().

CONFORMING TO
       ISO 9899, POSIX 1003.1-2001

SEE ALSO
       localtime(e), strftime(e), strptime(e), time(e)



                            2001-12-26                 GETDATE(E)