time(2 or 3)

[Jay Batson]

In article <337 at lll-lcc.UUcp> zingman at lll-lcc.UUcp (Jonathan Zingman) writes:
> ... I want to use the
>routine localtime, which breaks down a pointer "such as returned by 
>time(2)."  Later in the same section of the manual it says "SEE ALSO
 ^^^^^^^  I would hope you can find it - I can't imagine you'd have
	  ctime(3) and _not_ have time(2).  look again, or in you online man.
>time(3)"  I can't find time in either of those sections, and my guesses
 ^^^^^^^  my manual doesn't say this, but then again, I'm still on v7...
>at how to call it so far have not worked....

Easy.

#include <time.h>

some_fcn(params)
sometype params;
{
	long somevar1;
	struct tm *somevar2;
	/* or... */
	struct tm *somevar2, *localtime();
	/* depending on whether or not your <time.h> already defines
	   localtime or not... */

	/* ok, first get ahold of the number of seconds since Jan 1, 1970 */
	somevar1 = time(0);

	/* ok, now pass localtime a pointer to somevar1.  localtime will
	   will go about declaring the structure it will use, and fill the
	   structure up with appropriate info - we just want to expect to
	   be returned a pointer to what localtime comes up with */
	somevar2 = localtime(&somevar1); /* note &somevar1 passes a pointer */
     /* ^^^ pointer recv'g what retd */	 /* to what we got from time(2)     */

	/* ok, now to get at what localtime has prepared for us, here
	   is an example */
	
	printf("The current time is: %2d:%2d:%2d (on a 24 hour clock)\n",
		somevar2->tm_hour, somevar2->tm_min, somevar2->tm_sec);
} /* end some_fcn */

See?  Easy.
--------

"OK, so now, after it gets dark Lancelot and I will jump out of the rabbit, and
 take the castle by supr........ oh."

Jay Batson
{seismo,hplabs}!hao!isis!jay