CurrentTime

(Engine-Level Function)

Description:	Returns the number of seconds, in local or UTC time, since midnight of January 1, 1970 (where "midnight" is 00:00).
Returns:	Numeric (double)
Usage:	Script only.
Function Groups:	Time and Date
Related to:	Now | Seconds | Today | TimeArrived
Format:	CurrentTime([TimeType] )
Parameters:

TimeType

Any expression that evaluates to a 0 or 1. When 0, it indicates that time returned should be local time. If set to 1, indicates that the current UTC time should be returned. Defaults to 0 if missing or Invalid.

Comments:

This function solves the problem encountered when using Seconds together with Today to determine the current date and time, when the time is within a fraction of a second of midnight. This function assumes that "midnight" on January 1, 1970 is 00:00, rather than 24:00 on a 24-hour clock. The returned value is accurate to three decimal points (milliseconds).

Example 1:

  If ! Valid(RightNow);
  [
    RightNow = CurrentTime(); 
  ]

This assigns the current time in seconds since midnight on January 1, 1970 to the double variable rightNow.

Example 2:

You may have a need to format a CurrentTime value for display to a user.

Given that there are 86400 seconds in a day, you can format the timestamp as follows:

  If ! Valid(LocalNow);
  [
    LocalNow = CurrentTime(0); 
    DisplayNow = concat(Date(LocalNow / 86400, 4), " - ", 
                             Time(LocalNow % 86400, 2));
  ]