Syntax

DATECONVERT date_variable [ {+ | -}date_varible ] FORMAT format  
[ variable FORMAT format | EDITONLY ] [GS status]

Parameters

DateConvert can be abbreviated as DC.

Description

The complex form of the DateConvert logic command converts the value of a variable, storing the result in a series of built-in segment attributes with the prefix Glb.DC_, or in a single variable in a specified format.

The conversion is based on a base date defined by the Glb.Base, Glb.Century, and Glb.Century_Start built-in segment attributes. .

The complex form of the DateConvert logic command can be used to:

Failure behavior

A date is invalid if:

If the date is invalid, the Glb.Status built-in segment attribute is set to "*****". Use the GS command option to direct the result to a variable. Error testing should be used whenever the DateConvert logic command is invoked.

If the Glb.Status built-in segment attribute is set to "*****", the DateConvert logic command is still executed, but uses the current date. If the current date is invalid (for example, it is prior to the start of the base year), then January 1 of the base year is used as input.

Restrictions

The following restrictions apply to use of the complex form of the DateConvert logic command:

Examples

Example 1

This example converts the Prod.Ord_DayNum relative day number. The result is stored in the Glb.DC_ built-in segment attributes.

DateConvert Prod.Ord_DayNum Format DAYNUM

Example 2

This example converts the Tran_Date date, in YYMMDD format, into CCYY-MMM-DD format, and stores it in DB_Date.

DateConvert Tran_Date Format YYMMDD DB_Date Format CCYY-MMM-DD

Example 3

This example sets Glb.Century to 19 prior to converting Tran_Date, in YYMMDD format. The result is stored in the Glb.DC_ built-in segment attributes.

Glb.Century := 19
DateConvert Tran_Date Format YYMMDD

Example 4

This example converts the date, 45 days after OrderDay, into DAYNUM format. The result is stored in the Glb.DC_ built-in segment attributes.

DateConvert OrderDay + 45 Format DAYNUM

Example 5

This example converts the date, Num_Days before Glb.Today, into YYMMMDD format. The result is stored in the Glb.DC_ built-in segment attributes.

DateConvert Glb.Today – Num_Days Format YYMMMDD

Example 6

This example validates Tran_Date in YYMMDD format. There is no output conversion.

DateConvert Tran_Date Format YYMMDD EditOnly

DateConvert Base Date

The conversion performed by the DateConvert complex form is based upon a base date defined by the Glb.Base, Glb.Century, and Glb.Century_Start built-in segment attributes.

Glb.Base and Glb.Century_Start

Set the Glb.Century_Start built-in segment attribute using the segment's Century Start Year property. If this property is not set, the Glb.Century_Start built-in segment attribute is set using the Glb.Base built-in segment attribute.

Set the Glb.Base built-in segment attribute using the segment's BaseYear property. The valid range is 1 through 9999. If this property is not set, the Glb.Base built-in segment attribute is set to 1957.

Glb.Century

The Glb.Century built-in segment attribute is set if the input date of the DateConvert logic command does not contain the century (it is a six-digit date). This is required if the century of the input date is different from the default century.

The Glb.Century built-in segment attribute is set to the next century if the year is less than the Glb.Century_Start built-in segment attribute, and either of the following conditions is true:

The Glb.Century built-in segment attribute is reinitialized in the Construct method, which is normally, but not always, called for each transaction. To ensure consistent results, set the Glb.Century built-in segment attribute to zero before using the DateConvert logic command to deduce the century.

Restrictions

The current century, instead of the Glb.Century built-in segment attribute, is used for the Glb.Today, Glb.Todays_Date_Num, Glb.YYMMDD, and built-in segment attributes and Input_Date built-in ispec attribute (except if it is from a database record).

Example

In this example, the Glb.Century_Start built-in segment attribute is set to 1957 (the same as the Glb.Base built-in segment attribute value) and the Glb.Century built-in segment attribute value is set to 0 (or 19).

If a DateConvert logic command is invoked with a year 50 followed by years of 60 and 70, and the segment's DC Sets Glb.Century property is set to true, the Glb.Century built-in segment attribute is set to 20 (since 1950 is prior to the value of Glb.Century_Start), and the years are interpreted as 2050, 2060, and 2070.

DateConvert Variable Format

The following table lists valid formats specified with the Format command parameter of the DateConvert complex form.