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Q115055: Function to Calculate Elapsed or Accumulated Time

Article: Q115055
Product(s): Microsoft FoxPro
Version(s): MACINTOSH:2.5b,2.5c; MS-DOS:1.02,2.0,2.5,2.5a,2.6; WINDOWS:2.5,2.5a,2.5b,2.6,3.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbcode
Last Modified: 10-FEB-2000

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, version 3.0 
- Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, versions 2.5, 2.5a, 2.5b, 2.6 
- Microsoft FoxPro for MS-DOS, versions 1.02, 2.0, 2.5, 2.5a, 2.6 
- Microsoft FoxPro for Macintosh, versions 2.5b, 2.5c 
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SUMMARY
=======

Although the TIME() and SECONDS() functions in FoxPro return the current time
and seconds elapsed since midnight, respectively, there are no intrinsic
functions within FoxPro to directly perform arithmetic operations on time
values.

The user-defined (UDF) function shown below makes it possible to add or subtract
values returned by the TIME() function or those entered manually in the standard
hours:minutes:seconds format.

MORE INFORMATION
================

The following function is used by the first set of code samples found below it:

     * TIMECALC.PRG
     PARAMETERS bt,et,op
     hr1=VAL(LEFT(bt,2))
     hr2=VAL(LEFT(et,2))
     mn1=VAL(SUBSTR(bt,4,2))
     mn2=VAL(SUBSTR(et,4,2))
     sc1=VAL(RIGHT(bt,2))
     sc2=VAL(RIGHT(et,2))
     tot1=(hr1*3600)+(mn1*60)+sc1
     tot2=(hr2*3600)+(mn2*60)+sc2
     IF op=1
       tt=tot1+tot2
     ELSE
       tt=tot2-tot1
     ENDIF
     thr=ALLTRIM(STR(INT(tt/3600)))
     tmn=ALLTRIM(STR(INT((tt%3600)/60)))
     tsc=ALLTRIM(STR((tt%3600)%60))
     tdc=RIGHT(STR(INT((VAL(tmn)/60)*10)/10,5,1),1)
     RETURN chr(13)+'  '+ ;
            thr+' hour'+iif(val(thr)<>1,'s','')+', '+ ;
            tmn+' minute'+iif(val(tmn)<>1,'s','')+', '+ ;
            tsc+' second'+iif(val(tsc)<>1,'s','')+'.' + ;
            chr(13)+chr(13)+ '  Decimal equivalent: '+ ;
            thr+'.'+tdc+' hour'+iif(val(tdc)<>1,'s','')+'.'+chr(13)

Sample Code
-----------

     *-> FOR MS-DOS and Macintosh
     ? timecalc('00.05.15','01.25.00',1)
     ? timecalc('00.05.15','01.25.00',2)

     *-> FOR WINDOWS 2.5
     SET TEXTMERGE ON
     \<<timecalc('00.05.15','01.25.00',1)>>
     \<<timecalc('00.05.15','01.25.00',2)>>
     SET TEXTMERGE OFF

     *-> FOR 2.5a MS-DOS or WINDOWS
     WAIT WIND timecalc('00.05.15','01.25.00',1) NOWAIT
     WAIT WIND timecalc('00.05.15','01.25.00',2) NOWAIT

     **** R E S U L T S ******************************

     * (1=ADDITION) returns:
     *
     *    1 hour, 30 minutes, 15 seconds.
     *
     *    Decimal equivalent: 1.5 hours.
     *

     * (2=SUBTRACTION) returns:
     *
     *    1 hour, 19 minutes, 45 seconds.
     *
     *    Decimal equivalent: 1.3 hours.
     *
     * NOTE: While a period is used in this example as a separator
     * character for hr.mn.sc, any other character may be used.

The following program demonstrates a FoxPro for Windows-specific implementation
of the TimeCalc() function, which tracks the time since the current FoxPro
session began. The timer can optionally be reset. This example uses a program
file called by the CONFIG.FPW file when FoxPro is started to initialize the
variables and set keytraps for displaying and resetting the timer.

     *** T I M E T R A K . P R G
     *
     PUBLIC btime
     ON KEY LABEL F4 btime=TIME()
     ON KEY LABEL F5 WAIT WINDOW TimeCalc( btime, TIME(), 2 ) NOWAIT
     KEYBOARD "{F4}"
     * end of program

To have the program load automatically when FoxPro starts, modify the CONFIG.FPW
file to include the following line:

     COMMAND=DO timetrak

To use the timer, press F5 to display how long FoxPro has been running. You can
display the elapsed time at any time during the session by pressing F5.

If you are repeating a specific action and each action must be timed separately
(such as data entry or phone call tracking), press F4 (or issued it
programmatically with the KEYBOARD command) to reset the timer at the beginning
of the action. When you have completed the action, press F5 to display the
elapsed time for that action.

If the timer has not been reset, you can display the entire session time by
issuing F5 within an ON SHUTDOWN routine. If individual actions must be tracked
as well, you can assign an additional variable in the TIMETRAK program to track
the entire session.

Additional query words: VFoxWin FoxMac FoxDos FoxWin timing stopwatch lap

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Keywords          : kbcode 
Technology        : kbHWMAC kbOSMAC kbVFPsearch kbAudDeveloper kbFoxproSearch kbZNotKeyword3 kbFoxPro250bMac kbFoxPro250cMac kbFoxPro200DOS kbFoxPro250DOS kbFoxPro250aDOS kbFoxPro260DOS kbFoxPro260 kbFoxPro250 kbFoxPro250a kbFoxPro250b kbVFP300
Version           : MACINTOSH:2.5b,2.5c; MS-DOS:1.02,2.0,2.5,2.5a,2.6; WINDOWS:2.5,2.5a,2.5b,2.6,3.0

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