Date & Time Calculations

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Date & Time Calculations

DTO.AddHours - Add Hours to a Time

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MiniRobotLanguage (MRL)

 

DTO.AddHours Command

Add or Subtract Hours from a Time

 

Intention

 

The DTO.AddHours command modifies a given time by adding a specified number of hours. It intelligently handles time rollovers, for example, adding 3 hours to `22:00` will correctly result in `01:00`. To subtract hours, simply provide a negative number.

 

This functionality is very useful for calculating future or past times, adjusting for time zones, or determining the end time of a process that has a known duration in hours.

 

Syntax

 

DTO.AddHours|time|hours|[format]|[$$RES]

 

Parameter Explanation

 

time - The initial time string (e.g., "14:30:00") that will be modified. Can be a variable or a literal.

 

hours - A numeric value for the hours to add. A negative value (e.g., -5) will subtract hours.

 

format - (Optional) The format for both the input `time` and the output result. If omitted, "HH:MM:SS" is used as the default.

 

$$RES - (Optional) The variable where the resulting time string is stored.

 

Example

 

'**********************************************

' DTO.AddHours - Sample

'**********************************************

'

' --- Sample 1: Add hours, crossing midnight ---

$$TAA = "22:45:10"

' Add 4 hours to the time in $$TAA.

DTO.AddHours|$$TAA|4||$$RES

MBX.22:45:10 + 4 hours is $$RES ' Result: 02:45:10

'

' --- Sample 2: Subtract hours, crossing midnight ---

$$TAB = "01:30:00"

' Subtract 3 hours from the time in $$TAB by adding a negative value.

DTO.AddHours|$$TAB|-3||$$RES

MBX.01:30:00 - 3 hours is $$RES ' Result: 22:30:00

'

' --- Sample 3: Using a custom separator ---

$$TAC = "14-15-00"

$$FMT = "HH-MM-SS"

' Add 2 hours, using a hyphen as a separator for input and output.

DTO.AddHours|$$TAC|2|$$FMT|$$RES

MBX.14-15-00 + 2 hours is $$RES ' Result: 16-15-00

ENR.

 

Remarks

 

This command correctly handles calculations that cross midnight. For instance, adding 2 hours to `23:00` will correctly yield `01:00`. While the calculation might logically cross into a new day, the command only returns the resulting time part.

 

Limitations:

 

The input time string must be valid and must match the provided format mask (or the default format if none is provided).

 

See also:

 

    DTO. - Date Time Operations

    DTO.Subtract Hours

    DTO.Add Minutes

    DTO.Add Seconds

    DTO.Add To Current Time

    DTC. - Date and Time Calculation