Re: PATCH: zsh/datetime $EPOCHREALTIME

[Bart Schaefer <schaefer@brasslantern.com>]

On Aug 10,  4:41pm, Peter Stephenson wrote:
}
} On Wed, 10 Aug 2011 08:30:17 -0700
} Bart Schaefer <schaefer@brasslantern.com> wrote:
} > Allow the user to apply typeset to EPOCHSECONDS.  If it's an int,
} > it is as it is now.  If it's a float, what you called EPOCHREALTIME.
} > If an array, elements for seconds and nanoseconds.  If a hash, the
} > keys are tv_sec and tv_nsec like a timespec (convert from tv_usec
} > when using gettimeofday).
} 
} That's the trick I did with SECONDS, but a utility library like
} zsh/datetime might be called in lots of different places and
} come a cropper if the type is wrong (e.g. supplying a float to
} strftime screws up), so I thought it would be better to minimise the
} assumptions needed.

Good point regarding overloading EPOCHSECONDS.  So, introduce a new
variable EPOCHTIMESPEC (or just EPOCHTIME, I suppose).

Regarding Mikael's question ... is there any way for the getfn of an
array to know what array element has been accessed?  E.g. could the
function update the time only when the entire array or the first
(seconds) element is accessed, and return the previous value when
the nanoseconds is accessed?

If not, he's right, you'd always have to copy it (which is probably
not a big deal if you're already interested in each bit separately).

for sec nsec in $EPOCHTIME; do ...