OSF

NAME

date − Displays or sets the date

SYNOPSIS

Without Superuser Authority

date [−u] [+field_descriptor ...]

With Superuser Authority

date [−nu] [MMddhhmm.ssyy | alternate_date_format] [+field_descriptor ...]

The date command writes the current date and time to standard output. 

DESCRIPTION

The date command writes the current date and time to standard output if called with no flags or with a flag list that begins with a + (plus sign).  Only a user operating with superuser authority can change the date and time.  The LC_TIME variable, if it is defined, controls the ordering of the day and month numbers in the date specifications.  The default order is MMddhhmm.ssyy where:

       •MM is the month number (01=January). 

       •dd is the number of the day in the month. 

       •hh is the hour in the day (using a 24-hour clock). 

       •mm is the minute number. 

       •ss is the number of seconds. 

       •yy is the last two numbers of the year. 

The alternative ordering is either ddMMhhmm.ssyy, yyMMddhhmm.ss, or yyddMMhhmm.ss.  If format yyMM...  is specified, the value of yy must be 88 to 99. 

The current month, day, hour, and year are default values. The system operates in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). 

If you follow date with a + (plus sign) and a field descriptor, you can control the output of the command. You must precede each field descriptor with a % (percent sign). The system replaces the field descriptor with the specified value. Enter a literal % as %%. The date command copies any other characters to standard output without change. date always ends the string with a newline character. Output fields are fixed size (zero padded if necessary). 

Do not change the date when the system is in any run mode other than single-user mode. 

The date command prints out a usage message on any unrecognized flags or input. 

Field Descriptors

aDisplays the locale’s abbreviated weekday name (Sun to Sat or the non-English equivalent). 

ADisplays the locale’s full weekday name. 

bDisplays the locale’s abbreviated month name. 

BDisplays the locale’s full month name. 

cDisplays the locale’s appropriate time and date representation. 

CDisplays the locale’s century (the year divided by 100 and truncated to an integer) as a decimal number (00 to 99). 

dDisplays the day of month as a decimal number (01 to 31). 

DDisplays the date in the format mm/dd/yy (the default), or as specified by the LC_TIME environment variable, if defined. 

eDisplays the day of the month as a decimal number (1 to 31 in a 2-digit field with leading space fill). 

hA synonym for %b. 

HDisplays the hour as a decimal number (00 to 23). 

IDisplays the hour as a decimal number (01 to 12). 

jDisplays the day of year as a decimal number (001 to 366). 

mDisplays the month of year as a decimal number (01 to 12). 

MDisplays the minute as a decimal number (00 to 59). 

nInserts a newline character. 

pDisplays the locale’s equivalent of either AM or PM. 

rDisplays the time (12-hour clock) using AM/PM notation (or the non-English equivalent) in the format hh:mm:ss AM or hh:mm:ss PM. 

SDisplays the second as a decimal number (00 to 61). 

tInserts a tab character. 

TDisplays the time in 24-hour clock format as hh:mm:ss (the default), or as specified by the LC_TIME environment variable, if defined. 

UDisplays the week number of the year (Sunday is the first day of the week) as a decimal number (00 to 53). 

wDisplays the day of the week as a decimal number (Sunday = 0). 

WDisplays the week number of the year (Monday is the first day of the week) as a decimal number (00 to 53). 

xDisplays the locale’s appropriate date representation. 

XDisplays the locale’s appropriate time representation. 

yDisplays the last two numbers of the year as a decimal number (00 to 99). 

YDisplays the full year as a decimal number. 

ZDisplays the time zone name, or no characters if the time zone cannot be determined. 

%%Inserts a % character. 

FLAGS

−nDoes not set the time globally on all machines in a local area network that have their clocks synchronized (superuser only). 

−uPerforms operations as if the TZ environment variable was set to the string GMT0. Otherwise, date uses the time zone indicated by the TZ environment variable or the system default if that variable is not set. 

EXAMPLES

     1.To display current date and time, enter:

date

Depending on your current locale, the output might look like one of the following:

Thu Apr 12 13:21:30 EDT 1992
 jeu 12 avr 17:21:30 CUT 1992
 tor 12 apr 17:21:30 CUT 1992

The first output line is for an American English locale, the second is for a French locale, and the third is for a Danish locale.

     2.To set the date and time, enter:

date 02171425.45

This sets the date and time to 14:25:45 (45 seconds after 2:25 p.m.) February 17 of the current year.

     3.To display the date and time in a specified format, enter:

date +"%r %d %h %y (%a)"

This displays the date (assume current year is 1992) shown in Example 2 as:

02:25:03 PM 17 Feb 90 (Fri)

CAUTIONS

Do not change the date while the system is running with more than one user. 

RELATED INFORMATION

Functions: getclock(3), gettimeofday(2), setclock(3). 

OSF/1 User’s Guide.