HHMMSS: Retrieving the Current Time

How to:

Retrieve the Current Time

Available Languages: reporting

The HHMMSS function retrieves the current time from the operating system as an eight character string, separating the hours, minutes, and seconds with periods.

A compiled MODIFY procedure must use HHMMSS to obtain the time; it cannot use the &TOD variable, which also returns the time. The &TOD variable is made current only when you execute a MODIFY, SCAN, or FSCAN procedure.

There is also an HHMMSS function available in the Maintain language. For information on this function, see HHMMSS: Retrieving the Current Time (Maintain).

Syntax: How to Retrieve the Current Time

HHMMSS(output)

where:

output

Alphanumeric, at least A8

Is the name of the field that contains the result, or the format of the output value enclosed in single quotation marks.

Example: Retrieving the Current Time

HHMMSS retrieves the current time and displays it in the page footing:

TABLE FILE EMPLOYEE
SUM CURR_SAL AS 'TOTAL SALARIES' AND COMPUTE
NOWTIME/A8 = HHMMSS(NOWTIME); NOPRINT
BY DEPARTMENT
FOOTING
"SALARY REPORT RUN AT TIME <NOWTIME"
END

The output is:

DEPARTMENT   TOTAL SALARIES
----------   --------------
MIS             $108,002.00
PRODUCTION      $114,282.00
 
SALARY REPORT RUN AT TIME 15.21.14