Converting a Date from Double to String |
In Python, dates are represented as strings in segment-level Python scripts, but are represented in a date time double precision format in table-level Python scripts and the Table Object.
To convert a date from a double to a string, use the double_to_date_time() and format_date_time() functions.
The double_to_date_time() function is the simplest way to convert a date in double precision format to a string:
environment.double_to_date_time(DoubleDate, Format) |
Here, DoubleDate is the date to be converted, and Format is the format of the date. This format is one of the date time formats listed in the Date Time Formats section of the Chameleon Workspace:
Date Time Formats in the Chameleon Workspace
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| For information on how to create a new date time format, see Creating a New Date Time Format. | ||
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The format_date_time() function converts a date in double precision format into a formatted string:
environment.format_date_time(DoubleDate, FormatString) |
Here, DoubleDate is the string to be converted, and FormatString is the format string to use when converting. This format string uses conversion specifiers to specify the format.
The following table lists some of the valid conversion specifiers that can be used in the string specified by FormatString:
| Specifier | Meaning |
|---|---|
| %a | Abbreviated weekday name |
| %A | Full weekday name |
| %b | Abbreviated month name |
| %B | Full month name |
| %c | Date and time representation appropriate for locale |
| %d | Day of month as decimal number (01 - 31) |
| %H | Hour in 24-hour format (00 - 23) |
| %I | Hour in 12-hour format (01 - 12) |
| %j | Day of year as decimal number (001 - 366) |
| %m | Month as decimal number (01 - 12) |
| %M | Minute as decimal number (00 - 59) |
| %p | Current locale's A.M./P.M. indicator for 12-hour clock |
| %S | Second as decimal number (00 - 59) |
| %U | Week of year as decimal number, with Sunday as first day of week (00 - 53) |
| %w | Weekday as decimal number (0 - 6; Sunday is 0) |
| %W | Week of year as decimal number, with Monday as first day of week (00 - 53) |
| %x | Date representation for current locale |
| %X | Time representation for current locale |
| %y | Year without century, as decimal number (00 - 99) |
| %Y | Year with century, as decimal number |
| %z, %Z | Timezone name or abbreviation; no characters if time zone is unknown |
You can use these functions when generating HL7 messages. Use a Table Outbound script to extract a date from a table, and then use a Segment Outbound script to load this date into a field of the message you are generating. The Table Outbound script just assigns the date to a global variable:
BirthDate = value |
The Segment Outbound script then converts the date to the format used in message segments. In this script, you can use double_to_date_time() to generate a date in a standard format:
value = environment.double_to_date_time(BirthDate, "DateTime") # this represents May 17, 1988 18:06:06 as "19880517180606+0000" |
Or you can use format_date_time() to generate a date in a custom format:
value = environment.format_date_time(BirthDate, "%y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S") # this represents May 17, 1988 18:06:06 as "88-05-17 18:06:06" |