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

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

today

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

time

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

now

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

localtime

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

utctime

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

cookie_time

Item Description
Syntax cookie_time(sec)
Feature Generates a time string that can be used in cookies based on a UNIX timestamp.
Parameter sec: a UNIX timestamp. To query the UNIX timestamp, you can call the time() function.
Return value A time string that indicates the expiration time of the cookie based on the UNIX timestamp specified by the sec parameter.
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)
Feature Generates a time string that can be used in HTTP headers based on a UNIX timestamp. For example, a time string that can be used in the Last-Modified header.
Parameter sec: a UNIX timestamp. To query the UNIX timestamp, you can call the time() function.
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)
Feature Parses a time string that can be used in HTTP headers and returns the corresponding UNIX timestamp.
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.
Return value If the function succeeds, a UNIX timestamp is returned. Otherwise, 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)
Feature Generates and returns a UNIX timestamp based on the provided values of the year, month, day, hour, min, and sec parameters.
Parameter
  • year
  • month
  • day
  • hour
  • min
  • sec
Return value A UNIX timestamp.
Example 
t = UNIXtime(1970, 1, 1, 8, 0, 0)
say(concat('UNIXtime()=', t))
Output
UNIXtime()=0