DateTime API
Javascript
Javascript has similar, but different API.
When using date and time variables, often we need to format them in different ways or extract just a certain value out of an entire timeframe.
In order to get the exact value we need, we can add some methods to our expression to do some basic calculations.
Here are some examples:
Example
Examples might be different, because those presented below are based on current time
List of DateTime methods
| DateTime method | Description |
|---|---|
| toDateTime(format) | Converts a string into a DateTime value, formatted description. |
| getYear() | Returns the year value of the current time |
| getMonth() | Returns the month value of the current time |
| getDay() | Returns the day value of the current time |
| getHour() | Returns the hour value of the current time |
| getMinute() | Returns the minute value of the current time |
| getDayOfWeek() | Returns the day of the week value of the current time |
| formatAsTime() | Returns time string in format HH:mm of the current time |
| formatAsDate() | Returns date string in format yyyy-MM-dd of the current time |
| format(pattern: string) | Returns a string in a pattern-based format. |
| plusYears(number) | Adds a number of years to the current time |
| plusMonths(number) | Adds a number of months to the current time |
| plusDays(number) | Adds a number of days to the current time |
| plusMinutes(number) | Adds a number of minutes to the current time |
| JavaScript methods | Links to other javascript methods for date and time |
toDateTime(format)
Converts a string into a DateTime value, formatted description. See format.
"2010-06-30T01:20+02:00".toDateTime()
"2010-06-30 01:20"
getYear()
returns year
system.currentTime.getYear()
2021
you can add or subtract to it as needed.
If you are in 2022 and add {system.currentTime.getYear()+2} to a response, the result will be: 2024.
getMonth()
returns month of year
system.currentTime.getMonth()
7
getDay()
returns day of month
system.currentTime.getDay()
9
getHour()
returns hour of day
system.currentTime.getHour()
8
You can add or subtract if you need to adjust for the timezone, e.g. system.currentTime.getHour()+2.
getMinute()
returns minute of hour
system.currentTime.getMinute()
52
getDayOfWeek()
returns day of week (Monday 1, Sunday 7)
system.currentTime.getDayOfWeek()
5
Example:
In the Custom block you can first retrieve the current day of the week and assign it to a keyDay key:
In the following block, you can then add this response
which includes this snippet of code that checks which day of the week it is and depending on the day will suggest 3 of the following days.
{if (memory.keyDay =1) "Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday" else if (memory.keyDay =2) "Wednesday, Thursday or Friday" else if (memory.keyDay =3) "Thursday, Friday or Saturday" else if (memory.keyDay =4) "Friday, Saturday or Sunday" else if (memory.keyDay =5) "Saturday, Sunday or Monday" else if (memory.keyDay =6) "Sunday, Monday or Tuesday" else if (memory.keyDay =7) "Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday" else ""}?
The response will look like this:
formatAsTime()
returns string in format HH:mm
system.currentTime.formatAsTime()
08:54
formatAsDate()
returns string in format yyyy-MM-dd
system.currentTime.formatAsDate()
2021-07-09
format(pattern: string)
format(pattern: string) returns a string in a pattern-based format. You can find guidelines on the pattern to follow here.
system.currentTime.format("d MMMM, yyyy")
9 July, 2021
Example:
In the expression below, the time value is not formatted.
This is what it looks like in the bot response.
Now, let's format the time value by adding .format("d MMMM, yyyy") to the expression
See now how the formatting looks different in the response:
plusYears(number)
Another way to add or subtract a number (years, months, days, etc.) from the current time is by adding .plus at the end of the expression.
system.currentTime.plusYears(1)
// current date is 2021-07-09
2022-07-09 08:56
plusMonths(number)
system.currentTime.plusMonths(1)
// current date is 2021-07-09
2021-08-09 08:56
plusDays(number)
system.currentTime.plusDays(1)
// current date is 2021-07-09
2021-07-10 08:58
plusMinutes(number)
system.currentTime.plusMinutes(1)
// current date is 2021-07-09 08:58
2021-07-09 08:59
Updated about 2 months ago