GNU bug report logs - #6453
coreutils: date -- Add new options for ISO 8601 date formats (-O)

Previous Next

To reply to this bug, email your comments to 6453 AT debbugs.gnu.org.

Toggle the display of automated, internal messages from the tracker.

Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Jari Aalto <jari.aalto <at> cante.net>
To: submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: coreutils: date -- Add new options for ISO 8601 date formats (-O)
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 10:42:34 +0300

Package: coreutils
Version: 8.5
Severity: wishlist


I'd like to suggest adding options to cover the typical ISO 8601 dates.
The options "O" seems to be free in date(1) manual page. Suggestions:

    -O      YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM        (possibly most of then used)
    -O::S   YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
    -O::T   YYYY-MM-DD"T"HH:MM:SS   (The canonical form)

The output can be produced using current option set:

    %Y-%m-%d	1999-12-31
    %Y-%j	1999-365
    %G-W%V-%u	1999-W52-5
    %H:%M:%S	23:59:59

but it would be nice to have a standrd "-O" option set specifically
designed from ISO dates.

Jari

References:

    Standard - Date - ISO 9601 (Markus Kuhn)
    http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-time.html

    Standard - Date - ISO 8601 (Wikipedia)
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601

Message #8 received at 6453 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Eric Blake <eblake <at> redhat.com>
To: Jari Aalto <jari.aalto <at> cante.net>
Cc: 6453 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#6453: coreutils: date -- Add new options for ISO 8601 date
	formats (-O)
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:58:00 -0600

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

On 06/18/2010 01:42 AM, Jari Aalto wrote:
> Package: coreutils
> Version: 8.5
> Severity: wishlist
> 
> 
> I'd like to suggest adding options to cover the typical ISO 8601 dates.
> The options "O" seems to be free in date(1) manual page. Suggestions:

Nope, O is already occupied per POSIX:
http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilities/date.html
For example, %Oe uses different numbers than %e in some locales.
And it is documented in 'date --help' (and therefore the date man page),
under the sentence: O to use the locale's alternate numeric symbols if
available.

> The output can be produced using current option set:
> 
>     %Y-%m-%d	1999-12-31
>     %Y-%j	1999-365
>     %G-W%V-%u	1999-W52-5
>     %H:%M:%S	23:59:59

Unfortunately, it seems like building the ISO formats from their
components will be be best we can do, as adding % extensions is very
difficult to justify.  However, given that we already have --rfc=2822
and --rfc-3339=TIMESPEC options that provide shortcuts for building
common RFC layouts, it may make sense to add a new command-line option
--iso-8601=TIMESPEC as shortcuts for building common ISO layouts.

> References:
> 
>     Standard - Date - ISO 9601 (Markus Kuhn)

Did you mean 8601?

-- 
Eric Blake   eblake <at> redhat.com    +1-801-349-2682
Libvirt virtualization library http://libvirt.org

[signature.asc (application/pgp-signature, attachment)]

Message #11 received at 6453 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Eric Blake <eblake <at> redhat.com>
To: jari <jari.aalto <at> cante.net>, 6453 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#6453: coreutils: date -- Add new options for ISO 8601 date
	formats (-O)
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:43:16 -0600

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

[let's keep the list/bug-tracker in the loop]

On 06/18/2010 11:31 AM, jari wrote:
> On 2010-06-18 08:58, Eric Blake wrote:
> | > I'd like to suggest adding options to cover the typical ISO 8601 dates.
> | 
> | Nope, O is already occupied per POSIX:
> 
> Ok.
> 
> | common RFC layouts, it may make sense to add a new command-line option
> | --iso-8601=TIMESPEC as shortcuts for building common ISO layouts.
> 
> That's even better and more straightforward as we need not to remember
> various % flags. 
> 
> Nice to know that the feature is considered to be included.

So, before anyone writes such a patch, what TIMESPEC options do you
propose would make the most sense for a new --iso-8601 command-line
option?  And, seeing that RFC 3339 was derived from ISO 8601, do we even
need a new option, or is the existing behavior already present?  In
other words, I'd still like to know what particular shortcuts you feel
are worth adding.

-- 
Eric Blake   eblake <at> redhat.com    +1-801-349-2682
Libvirt virtualization library http://libvirt.org

[signature.asc (application/pgp-signature, attachment)]

Message #14 received at 6453 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Eric Blake <eblake <at> redhat.com>
To: jari <jari.aalto <at> cante.net>, 6453 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#6453: coreutils: date -- Add new options for ISO 8601 date
	formats (-O)
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:31:39 -0600

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

[I repeat - PLEASE keep the list/bug-tracker in the loop, if you expect
anything to be done about your requests]

On 06/18/2010 12:18 PM, jari wrote:
> On 2010-06-18 11:43, Eric Blake wrote:
> | So, before anyone writes such a patch, what TIMESPEC options do you
> | propose would make the most sense for a new --iso-8601 command-line
> | option?  And, seeing that RFC 3339 was derived from ISO 8601, do we even
> | need a new option, or is the existing behavior already present?  In
> | other words, I'd still like to know what particular shortcuts you feel
> | are worth adding.
> 
> I'm so used to 8601, so I dind't see the option --rfc-3339 from
> date(1) at first. Here are few commets:
> 
> 
>        --rfc-3339=TIMESPEC
>               output date and time in RFC 3339 format.
>               TIMESPEC=`date', `seconds', or `ns' for date and time to
>               the indicated precision.  Date and time components are
>               separated by a single space: 2006-08-07 12:34:56-06:00
> 
> Additions to -rfc-3339 option
> -----------------------------
> 
> Current:
> 
> 	--rfc-3339="date"	2010-06-18
> 	--rfc-3339="seconds"	2010-06-18 21:08:05+03:00
> 
> It would be nice to have also without timezone:
> 
> 	--rfc-3339="time"	2010-06-18 21:08:00	(no TZ)
> 	--rfc-3339="word"	2010-06-18T21:08:00	(single word with seconds)
> 
> New option --iso8601
> --------------------
> 
> The 3339 is mostly unknown in the field, but almost everybody
> recognize 8601, so I'd like to suggest a shorthand for the most
> commonly used format (e,g, for log entries):
> 
> 	--iso8601
> 
> That would be same as the long option:
> 
>      	 --rfc-3339="time"
> 
> Perhaps also "memory friendly":
> 
> 	--iso8601="tz"
> 
> Which would be equivalent for:
> 
>         --rfc-3339="seconds"
> 
> Jari
> 
> 
> 	

-- 
Eric Blake   eblake <at> redhat.com    +1-801-349-2682
Libvirt virtualization library http://libvirt.org

[signature.asc (application/pgp-signature, attachment)]

Previous Next

GNU bug tracking system
Copyright (C) 1999 Darren O. Benham, 1997,2003 nCipher Corporation Ltd, 1994-97 Ian Jackson.