DateString

DateString[]

gives a string representing the complete current local date and time.

DateString["elem"]

gives the specified element or format for date and time.

DateString[{"elem1","elem2",…}]

concatenates the specified elements in the order given.

DateString[{y,m,d,h,m,s}]

gives a string corresponding to a DateList specification.

DateString[time]

gives a string corresponding to an AbsoluteTime specification.

DateString[date]

gives a string corresponding to a DateObject specification.

DateString[spec,elems]

gives elements elems of the date or time specification spec.

Details and Options

  • DateString[] by default gives its output in the form specified by $DateStringFormat.
  • The following date format specifications can be given as elements:
  • "Date"full date
    "DateShort"full date, with short day and month names
    "Time"full time
    "DateTime"full date and time
    "DateTimeShort"full date and time, with short names
    "ISODate"full date conforming to ISO-8601
    "ISOWeekDate"full week date conforming to ISO-8601
    "ISOOrdinalDate"full ordinal date conforming to ISO-8601
    "ISODateTime"full date and time conforming to ISO-8601
  • Elements related to year include the following:
  • "Year"full year (e.g. 2005)
    "YearShort"2‐digit year (e.g. 05)
    "YearExact"year including fraction
    "YearFraction"fractional part of year
    "ISOYear"year conforming to ISO-8601 (e.g. 0199)
    "YearUnsigned"year without a sign
    "YearRomanNumeral"year using Roman numerals
    "ADBC"AD or BC
    "CEBCE"CE or BCE
  • Elements related to month include the following:
  • "Month"2‐digit month number (e.g. 08)
    "MonthShort"1‐ or 2‐digit month number (e.g. 8)
    "MonthExact"month including fraction
    "MonthFraction"fractional part of month
    "MonthName"month name (e.g. "August")
    "MonthNameShort"month name in short form (e.g. "Aug")
    "MonthNameInitial"first letter of month name (e.g. "A")
    "MonthRomanNumeral"month using Roman numerals
    "MonthRomanNumeralLowerCase"month using lowercase Roman numerals
  • Elements related to day of the month include the following:
  • "Day"2‐digit day of the month (e.g. 09)
    "DayShort"1‐ or 2‐digit day of the month (e.g. 9 or 29)
    "DayExact"day including fraction
    "DayFraction"fractional part of day
  • Elements related to day of the week include the following:
  • "DayName"day of the week (e.g. "Wednesday")
    "DayNameShort"day of the week in short form (e.g. "Wed")
    "DayNameInitial"first letter of day name (e.g. "W")
    "ISOWeekDay"day number of week conforming to ISO-8601 (e.g. 4)
    "ISOWeekDayExact"day number of week including fraction
    "ISOWeekDayFraction"fractional day number of week
  • Elements related to hour include the following:
  • "Hour"2‐digit hour based on system preferences
    "Hour12"2‐digit hour on 12‐hour clock (e.g. 07)
    "Hour24"2‐digit hour on 24‐hour clock (e.g. 19)
    "HourShort"1‐ or 2‐digit hour based on system preferences
    "Hour12Short"1‐ or 2‐digit hour on 12‐hour clock (e.g. 7)
    "Hour24Short"1‐ or 2‐digit hour on 24‐hour clock (e.g. 7, 19)
    "HourExact"hour including fraction
    "HourFraction"fractional part of hour
    "AMPM"AM or PM
    "AMPMLowerCase"am or pm
  • Elements related to minute include the following:
  • "Minute"2‐digit minute (e.g. 05)
    "MinuteShort"1‐ or 2‐digit minute (e.g. 5 or 35)
    "MinuteExact"minute including fraction
    "MinuteFraction"fractional part of minute
  • Elements related to second include the following:
  • "Second"2‐digit seconds
    "SecondShort"1‐ or 2‐digit seconds
    "SecondExact"seconds including fractions
    "SecondFraction"fractional part of second
    "Millisecond"3‐digit milliseconds
    "MillisecondShort"1‐, 2‐, or 3‐digit milliseconds
    "MillisecondExact"millisecond including fraction
    "MillisecondFraction"fractional part of millisecond
  • Elements larger than a year include the following:
  • "Millennium"1000 year period beginning with year XX00
    "MillenniumUnsigned"unsigned millennium
    "MillenniumBeginning01"1000 year period beginning with year XX01
    "MillenniumBeginning01Unsigned"unsigned millennium beginning with year XX01
    "Century"100 year period beginning with year XX00
    "CenturyUnsigned"unsigned century
    "CenturyBeginning01"100 year period beginning with year XX01
    "CenturyBeginning01Unsigned"unsigned century beginning with year XX01
    "Decade"10 year period
    "DecadeUnsigned"unsigned decade
  • Elements related to multiple date elements include the following:
  • "Quarter"quarter number (e.g. 1)
    "QuarterName"quarter of year (e.g. "Quarter 1")
    "QuarterNameShort"quarter of year in short form (e.g. "Q1")
    "Week"2‐digit week number (e.g. 02)
    "WeekShort"1‐ or 2‐digit week number (e.g. 2)
    "WeekExact"week number including fraction
    "WeekFraction"fractional week number
  • Additional ISO-8601 date elements include the following:
  • "ISOYearDay"3‐digit day of the year conforming to ISO-8601 (e.g. 094)
    "ISOYearDayShort"1‐, 2‐ or 3‐digit day of the year (e.g. 94)
    "ISOYearDayExact"year day including fraction
    "ISOYearDayFraction"fractional part of year day
  • Elements related to time zone include the following:
  • "TimeZoneGMTRelative"GMT offset (e.g. GMT-04:00)
    "ISOTimeZone"GMT offset conforming to ISO-8601 (e.g. -04:00)
    "TimeZoneName"time zone name (e.g. Eastern Standard Time)
    "TimeZoneNameShort"short time zone name (e.g. EST)
  • Any other string given in the list of elements is concatenated literally in the output string.
  • With a typical value for $DateStringFormat, DateString[{y,m,d,h,m,s}] will truncate fractional seconds.
  • Shorter lists can be used in DateString[{y,m,…}]: {y} is equivalent to {y,1,1,0,0,0}, {y,m} to {y,m,1,0,0,0}, etc.
  • Values of m, d, h, m, s outside their normal ranges are appropriately reduced. Noninteger values of d, h, m, s can also be used. »
  • In DateString[spec,elems], the following date and time specifications can be given as spec:
  • timeabsolute time specification
    {y,m,d,h,m,s}DateList specification
    "string"DateString output
    {"string",{"e1","e2",…}}date string formed from specific elements
  • In the form DateString[{"string",{"e1","e2",…},…], the "ei" can be "Year", "YearShort", "Quarter", "Month", "MonthName", "Day", "DayName", "Hour", "Hour12", "AMPM", "Minute", or "Second".
  • DateString[{"string",{"e1","e2",…},…] uses the "ei" to fill in elements of {y,m,d,h,m,s}. Those not filled in are taken to have default values {yc,1,1,0,0,0}, where yc is the current year. »
  • In DateString[{"string",{"e1","e2",…},…], the "ei" are extracted from "string" in the order given, and can be separated by any non-alphanumeric characters. »
  • DateString[{"string",{"e1","sep12","e2","sep23",…},…] extracts elements using the explicit separators specified. »
  • DateString[date] uses the DateFormat value of the specified DateObject to determine the elements included in the resulting string.
  • In DateString[spec,elems], the time and date corresponding to spec are by default assumed to be in the time zone specified by $TimeZone, unless spec explicitly specifies another time zone.
  • DateString[spec,elems,TimeZone->z] gives output converted to time zone z.
  • DateString[] uses whatever date and time have been set on your computer system. It performs no corrections for time zones, daylight saving time, etc.
  • DateString[TimeZone -> z] gives the date and time inferred for time zone z by assuming that your computer is set for the time zone specified by $TimeZone. »

Examples

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Basic Examples  (4)

Find the current date:

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The current date in a specific format:

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Another date in a specific format:

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DateString supports a number of ISO-8601 date formats:

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Scope  (9)

Options  (1)

Applications  (1)

Properties & Relations  (6)

Possible Issues  (2)

Introduced in 2007
(6.0)