Wyx dictionary

.OVERVIEW....: Functions
.DISCUSSION..:
Fdate's functions are listed here as Backward References.

.DISCUSSION..:
In this section, we present an overview of the functions that can specified on the /F (function) parameter.

Fdate's most important parameter is the function parameter, /F. Here is a brief summary of the functions that may be specified on the /F parm, for example: /Fadd. Detailed descriptions of each of the functions can be found in other sections of this documentation.

If the /F parameter is omitted, it defaults to the null string, which causes Fdate to display its HELP screens.

The general format of an Fdate statement is:

Fdate /Ffunc

with a variety of parameters following the /F.

For example:

Fdate /Ff
Fdate /Fadd /A5 /B6 [adds 5 and 6]
Fdate /Flen /Q"this is a test" [produces the length of "this is a test"]

GENERAL DATE FUNCTIONS

F

Format the date in the /A parm into format specified in /O parm
ADD

Add the number of days in the /N parm to the date in the /A parm
SUB

Subtract the number of days in the /N parm from the date in the /A parm
DIF

Return the number of days between dates in the /A and /B parms
W

Do date arithmetic in terms of weeks rather than days. Using the date in the /A parm, a number specified in the /N parm, and a day-of-the-week number specified in the /D parm, return the date of the /Nth /Day-of-the-week before (or after) /Adate.
M

Do date arithmetic in terms of months rather than days. Add the number of months in the /N parm to the date in the /A parm. /N may be a negative number.

STRING-HANDLING FUNCTIONS

GET

get user input from the keyboard, and produce it as output. Optionally, display a prompt string.
GETU

same as get, but produce output converted to upper case
GETK

get a keypress and produce it (converted to upper case)
LEN

produce the length of a string in the Q parm
UPPER

convert the string in the Q parm to upper case
E

Echo the strings on the P and S parameters.
SUBSTR

Extract a substring from the Q parm, starting in column specified on A parm, for a length specified on B parm.

DATE/TIME COMPARISON FUNCTIONS

COMP

Compare the dates in the /A and /B parms. Return LT, EQ, or GT.
TCOMP

Compare the times specified on the /A and /B parms.

MATH FUNCTIONS

Note that these are NOT date math functions; they are NUMBER math functions.

Functions whose names begin with "#" do ordinary arithmetic, i.e. arithmetic on numbers rather than dates.

#ADD

Add the integers specified on the /A and /B parms. To do subtraction, add a negative number to a positive number.
#DIF

returns the difference between the integers specified on the /A and /B parms.
#COMP

Compare the integers specified on the /A and /B parms. Return LT, EQ, or GT.
#MOD

Modulus. Divide the integer on the /A parm by the integer on the /B parm, and return the remainder.
#RANDOM

Returns a random number between a lowerbound (specified on the /B parm) and an upperbound (specified on the /A parm).
#MULT

Multiply the integer on the /A parm by the integer on the /B parm, and return the result.
#DIV

Divide the integer on the /A parm by the integer on the /B parm, and return the result as a decimal number with two decimal places.
#IDIV

Integer division. Divide the integer on the /A parm by the integer on the /B parm, and return the result as an integer.
#2XX

Convert an integer in the range of 0-35 to "extended hex" (XX) notation.

Note that all of Fdate's arithmetic functions operate on integers. A decimal number on an input parameter will be rejected, and an error message will be displayed.

#ADD

returns the sum of the integers specified on the /A and /B parms. Can be used to calculate the "absolute" minute(second, date) in the future from a given "absolute" minute(second, date). Also useful in generating sequences of numbers and looping (see EXAMPLES).
#SUB (NOT SUPPORTED)

Fdate does not provide a numeric subtraction operation as such. To do subtraction, add two numbers, one of which is a negative number. For example, to subtract 3 from 2: Fdate /F#add /A2 /B-3 [ returns: -1 ]
#DIF

returns the difference between the integers specified on the /A and /B parms. #dif is the same as subtraction in which the smaller number is subtracted from the larger number; it will never return a negative number. It can be used to calculate the number of minutes(seconds, days) between two "Absolute" minutes(seconds, dates).
#COMP

compares the integers specified on the /A and /B parms.
- returns LT /A is less than /B
- returns EQ /A is equal to /B
- returns GT /A is greater than /B
In addition, the errorlevel is set to a special value:
- LT = 101
- EQ = 102
- GT = 103
#MOD

divides the integer on the /A parm by the integer on the /B parm, and returns the remainder.

This is useful for determining whether a number is evenly divisible by some other number. If the remainder is 0, then /A is evenly divisible by /B. If a year is evenly divisible by 4, for example, then it is an American election year. If it is evenly divisible by 100, then it is a century year, etc.
#MULT

multiplies the integer on the /A parm by the integer on the /B parm, and returns the result.
#DIV

(division) divides the integer on the /A parm by the integer on the /B parm, and returns the result as a decimal number, with two digits to the right of the decimal.

This is useful for dividing a number (representing the number of minutes in some period) by 60 to get the length of the period expressed in terms of hours, or by 1440 to get the length of the period expressed in terms of days. Or you could divide a number of days by 7 to get the number of weeks, etc.
#IDIV

(integer division) divides the integer on the /A parm by the integer on the /B parm, and returns the result as an integer.

This is useful, especially in conjunction with the #mod function, for converting a number of minutes into a number of hours and minutes, or days and hours and minutes. See the EXAMPLES file.
#2XX

Convert number to "extended hex" format.