Time specifications

Format of time specification arguments is nearly any English unambiguous text describing a time and/or date.

time_format

time_format [format [time]]

Formats a given time with the specified format.

format

Format string with %-escaped sequences. Recognized sequences are those of the strftime(3) function of the C library.

time

Time specification. If not given, the system's current time will be used instead.

time_rfc2822

time_rfc2822 [time]

Formats a given time in the format specified by RFC 822 (or RFC 2822). This is typically used in Internet protocols and formats.

time

Time specification. If not given, the system's current time will be used instead.

time_stamp

time_stamp [time]

Formats a give time as a timestamp. The output looks like:

YYYY-mm-ddTHH:MM:SS.NNNNNNNN

Timestamps generated this way can be sorted lexicographically, e.g. using the sort(1) command, it looks like.

time

Time specification. If not given, the system's current time will be used instead.

time_parse

time_parse string

Parses a string containing a time specification and returns the number of seconds from the Epoch.

string

Time specification string. Can contain almost any english free-form text which can be parsed as a date. If the input value cannot be parsed in an unambiguous manner, exit status of the function is non-zero.