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Server Load Balancer:Time functions

Last Updated:Apr 15, 2025

This topic describes the syntax, features, parameters, and return values of time functions and provides examples of these functions.

Click a function name to get detailed information:

today | time | now | localtime | utctime | cookie_time | http_time | parse_http_time | unixtime

today

Item	Description
Syntax	`today()`
Parameter	N/A
Feature	Queries the current date in the format of yyyy-mm-dd.
Return value	Queries the current date in the format of yyyy-mm-dd.
Example	`say(concat('today:', today()))` Output: `today:2021-12-29`

time

Item	Description
Syntax	`time()`
Parameter	N/A
Feature	Queries the current UNIX timestamp, excluding the fractional part of milliseconds. Unit: seconds.
Return value
Example	`say(concat('time:', time()))` Output: `time:1559109666`

now

Item	Description
Syntax	`now()`
Parameter	N/A
Feature	Queries the current UNIX timestamp, including the fractional part of milliseconds. Unit: seconds.
Return value
Example	`say(concat('now:', now()))` Output: `now:1559109666.644`

localtime

Item	Description
Syntax	`localtime()`
Parameter	N/A
Feature	Queries the current date and time in the format of yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss.
Return value
Example	`say(concat('localtime:', localtime()))` Output: `localtime:2021-12-29 14:02:41`

utctime

Item	Description
Syntax	`utctime()`
Parameter	N/A
Feature	Queries the current UTC time in the format of yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss.
Return value
Example	`say(concat('utctime:', utctime()))` Output: `utctime:2021-12-29 06:02:41`

cookie_time

Item	Description
Syntax	`cookie_time(sec)`
Parameter	sec: a UNIX timestamp. To query the UNIX timestamp, you can call the `time()` function.
Feature	Generates a time string that can be used in cookies based on the UNIX timestamp specified by the `sec` parameter.
Return value
Example	`say(concat('cookie_time:', cookie_time(time())))` Output: `cookie_time:Wed, 29-Dec-21 06:02:41 GMT`

http_time

Item	Description
Syntax	`http_time(sec)`
Parameter	sec: a UNIX timestamp. To query the UNIX timestamp, you can call the `time()` function.
Feature	Generates a time string that can be used in HTTP headers. For example, a time string that can be used in the Last-Modified header.
Return value	A time string that can be used in HTTP headers based on the UNIX timestamp specified by the `sec` parameter.
Example	`say(concat('http_time:', http_time(time())))` Output `http_time:Wed, 29 Dec 2021 06:02:41 GMT`

parse_http_time

Item	Description
Syntax	`parse_http_time(str)`
Parameter	str: the time string that you want to parse. Example: `Thu, 22-Dec-10 10:20:35 GMT`. To query the time string, you can call the `http_time()` function.
Feature	Parses a time string that can be used in HTTP headers and returns the corresponding UNIX timestamp.
Return value	If the function succeeds, a UNIX timestamp is returned. If the function fails, `false` is returned.
Example	`say(concat('parse_http_time:', parse_http_time(http_time(time()))))` Output `parse_http_time:1559109761`

unixtime

Item	Description
Syntax	`unixtime(year, month, day, hour, min, sec)`
Parameter	year month day hour min sec
Feature	Generates and returns a UNIX timestamp based on the provided values of the year, month, day, hour, min, and sec parameters.
Return value
Example	`t = UNIXtime(1970, 1, 1, 8, 0, 0) say(concat('UNIXtime()=', t))` Output `UNIXtime()=0`