Difference between two times (working ugly code, needs polish)

[Bruno Desthuilliers]

Shawn Milochik a écrit :

I have done what I wanted, but I think there must be a much better way.

Given two timestamps in the following format, I just want to figure
out how far apart they are (in days, seconds, whatever).

Format:

YYYY-MM-DD_MM:SS

Example:
2007-09-11_16:41


It seems to me that to do what I want, I need to convert a string into
a number (time.mktime()), such as this: 1189543487.0

Once I have that, I can just subtract one from the other and do
whatever I want. The ugly part is converting something like
2007-09-11_16:41 to the numeric equivalent.
>
Below is my code. Any suggestions?

import time
print time.mktime(time.strptime("2007-09-11_16:41", '%Y-%m-%d_%H:%M'))
=> 1189521660.0

FWIW, you may also want to have a look at the datetime module, with
special attention to the timedelta class.

HTH

 

[Shawn Milochik]

I have done what I wanted, but I think there must be a much better way.

Given two timestamps in the following format, I just want to figure
out how far apart they are (in days, seconds, whatever).

Format:

YYYY-MM-DD_MM:SS

Example:
2007-09-11_16:41


It seems to me that to do what I want, I need to convert a string into
a number (time.mktime()), such as this: 1189543487.0

Once I have that, I can just subtract one from the other and do
whatever I want. The ugly part is converting something like
2007-09-11_16:41 to the numeric equivalent.

Below is my code. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.


Here is what I have (works):

#runTimeStamp is the current time, set when the script begins execution
def recAge(lastUpdate, runTimeStamp):

import re

oneDay = 60 * 60 * 24

lastUpdate = re.sub(r'\D+', ',', lastUpdate)
lastUpdate = lastUpdate + ",0,0,0,0"
lastUpdate = [int(x) for x in lastUpdate.split(',')]
lastUpdate = time.mktime(tuple(lastUpdate))

runTimeStamp = re.sub(r'\D+', ',', runTimeStamp)
runTimeStamp = runTimeStamp + ",0,0,0,0"
runTimeStamp = [int(x) for x in runTimeStamp.split(',')]
runTimeStamp = time.mktime(tuple(runTimeStamp))

return (runTimeStamp - lastUpdate) / oneDay

 

[Grant Edwards]

I have done what I wanted, but I think there must be a much better way.

See the strptime() function in either the time or the datetime
modules:

http://docs.python.org/lib/module-time.html
http://docs.python.org/lib/module-datetime.html

 

[Shawn Milochik]

See the strptime() function in either the time or the datetime
modules:

http://docs.python.org/lib/module-time.html
http://docs.python.org/lib/module-datetime.html

Grant:

Thanks, this works, and is much shorter. Any further improvements, anyone?

def isOld(lastUpdate, runTimeStamp):

oneDay = 60 * 60 * 24

lastUpdate = time.mktime(time.strptime(lastUpdate, "%Y-%m-%d_%H:%M"))
runTimeStamp = time.mktime(time.strptime(runTimeStamp, "%Y-%m-%d_%H:%M"))

return (runTimeStamp - lastUpdate) / oneDay

 

[Steve Holden]

Grant:

Thanks, this works, and is much shorter. Any further improvements, anyone?

def isOld(lastUpdate, runTimeStamp):

oneDay = 60 * 60 * 24

lastUpdate = time.mktime(time.strptime(lastUpdate, "%Y-%m-%d_%H:%M"))
runTimeStamp = time.mktime(time.strptime(runTimeStamp, "%Y-%m-%d_%H:%M"))

return (runTimeStamp - lastUpdate) / oneDay

I suppose really oneDay should be a global (i.e. outside the function
definition). Apart from that it would be hard to improve on: obvious,
easy to read, in short - pythonic.

Are you concerned about daylight savings? That could certainly introduce
a whole new level of complexity into the problem. Let's hope not ...


--
Steve Holden +1 571 484 6266 +1 800 494 3119
Holden Web LLC/Ltd http://www.holdenweb.com
Skype: holdenweb http://del.icio.us/steve.holden
--------------- Asciimercial ------------------
Get on the web: Blog, lens and tag the Internet
Many services currently offer free registration
----------- Thank You for Reading -------------

 

[Shawn Milochik]

I suppose really oneDay should be a global (i.e. outside the function
definition). Apart from that it would be hard to improve on: obvious,
easy to read, in short - pythonic.

Are you concerned about daylight savings? That could certainly introduce
a whole new level of complexity into the problem. Let's hope not ...

I'm not concerned with DST; this is a script which checks my Ebay
auctions (I have some things for sale), and sends me e-mail whenever
someone bids. It's run by cron every half hour -- it keeps me from
compulsively checking my auctions. ^_^

In any case, DST isn't an issue because the same machine generates
both timestamps, and all I use it for is to stop displaying auctions
after they are 10 days old, so I don't get all my old crap filling up
the alert e-mail or skewing the total dollar amount for all active
auctions.

Thanks.
Shawn

 

[Iain King]

I'm not concerned with DST; this is a script which checks my Ebay
auctions (I have some things for sale), and sends me e-mail whenever
someone bids. It's run by cron every half hour -- it keeps me from
compulsively checking my auctions. ^_^

In any case, DST isn't an issue because the same machine generates
both timestamps, and all I use it for is to stop displaying auctions
after they are 10 days old, so I don't get all my old crap filling up
the alert e-mail or skewing the total dollar amount for all active
auctions.

Thanks.
Shawn

Just to be picky - your function returns the number of days between
two dates, but it's called isOld, which looks like it should return a
boolean. i.e. it looks like it would be used as:

if not isOld(auctionDate, currentTime):
checkForBid()

rather than how I assume it is used:

if isOld(auctionDate, currentTime) <= 10:
checkForBid()

I'd call it daysDiff or something similar, or make it more specific so
that it works like the first block of code above:

ONEDAY = 60*60*24
OLDNESS_THRESHOLD = 10

def isOld(lastUpdate, runTimeStamp):
lastUpdate = time.mktime(time.strptime(lastUpdate, "%Y-%m-%d_%H:
%M"))
runTimeStamp = time.mktime(time.strptime(runTimeStamp, "%Y-%m-%d_
%H:%M"))
return (runTimeStamp - lastUpdate) / ONEDAY >= OLDNESS_THRESHOLD

if not isOld(auctionDate, currentTime):
checkForBid()

Iain

 

[Shawn Milochik]

Just to be picky - your function returns the number of days between

two dates, but it's called isOld, which looks like it should return a
boolean. i.e. it looks like it would be used as:

if not isOld(auctionDate, currentTime):
checkForBid()

rather than how I assume it is used:

if isOld(auctionDate, currentTime) <= 10:
checkForBid()

I'd call it daysDiff or something similar, or make it more specific so
that it works like the first block of code above:

You're absolutely right; I started writing it with one purpose in mind
and changed it midstream. I actually renamed it yesterday to dayDiff.
;o)

Shawn