format time difference with %H - emacs

How do I format a time-difference value, computed using time-subtract? Consider this simple example:
(let*
((before (current-time))
(after (progn (sit-for 0.25) (current-time)))
(diff (time-subtract after before)))
(insert (format "before: %s--%s\n" before (format-time-string "%Hh%Mm%S.%3Ns" before)))
(insert (format "after: %s--%s\n" after (format-time-string "%Hh%Mm%S.%3Ns" after)))
(insert (format "diff: %s--%s--%s\n" diff (format-time-string "%s.%3Ns" diff)
(format-time-string "%Hh%Mm%S.%3Ns" diff))))
Evaluating it inserts the following:
before: (22616 21856 296901 800000)--13h47m12.296s
after: (22616 21856 552345 800000)--13h47m12.552s
diff: (0 0 255444 0)--0.255s--16h00m00.255s
The difference between the two timestamps is about 250ms. But formatting it using format-time-string with format string "%Hh%Mm%S.%3Ns" produces 16.
Shouldn't it be 0?

"16" comes from your timezone.
I think if you do (format-time-string "%Hh%Mm%S.%3Ns" diff 0), you will see the result you expected (i.e., 0).

Related

using date-time in emacs spreadsheets

I'm just starting to use ses-mode in emacs, and I plan to use it with timestamps, but I do not manage to have them parsed in a way that I can then use.
I'm taking measurements on three days of the week, so my distances between one measurement and the other is either 2 or 3 days. I chose to use ses-mode in emacs because it runs on all of my computers, including the phone.
my spreadsheet contains datestamp, conductivity, temperature, and gallon count, a couple of subsequent lines would look like this:
2014-10-03 2.95 33.4 4031070
2014-10-06 3.07 33.5 4086930
2014-10-08 2.97 33.6 4119590
I would add two more columns, the first with the difference of days between the readings, the second with the "gallon-per-day" value.
I do not manage to have the string timestamp parsed into a format where I can do computations, staying within a simple emacs spreadsheet (SES).
I've tried date-to-time, but it always returns the same value (14445 17280).
parse-time-string gives me a 9-tuple which I can't directly pass to format-time-string.
The function encode-time helps:
(let ((l (parse-time-string "2014-09-12")))
(format-time-string "%d %m %Y" (encode-time 0 0 0 (nth 3 l) (nth 4 l) (nth 5 l))))
The following version uses cl-flet to avoid doubling of code if the encoding is needed multiple times. If you need the encoding also in other functions you can use defun instead of cl-flet.
(eval-when (compile) (require 'cl)) ;; for cl-flet
(let ((A2 "2014-10-08") ;; just for testing
(A1 "2014-10-03")) ;; just for testing
(cl-flet ((encode (str)
(let ((l (parse-time-string str)))
(encode-time 0 0 0 (nth 3 l) (nth 4 l) (nth 5 l)))))
(let* ((t-prev (encode A1))
(t-this (encode A2)))
(/ (time-to-seconds (time-subtract t-this t-prev)) (* 24 60 60)))))
As a function:
(eval-when (compile) (require 'cl)) ;; for cl-flet
(defun day-diff (date1 date2)
"Calculate the difference of dates in days between DATE1-STR and DATE2-STR."
(interactive "sDate1:\nsDate2:")
(cl-flet ((encode (str)
(let ((l (parse-time-string str)))
(encode-time 0 0 0 (nth 3 l) (nth 4 l) (nth 5 l)))))
(setq date1 (encode date1)
date2 (encode date2))
(let ((ret (/ (time-to-seconds (time-subtract date1 date2)) (* 24 60 60))))
(when (called-interactively-p 'any)
(message "Day difference: %s" ret))
ret)))
(put 'day-diff 'safe-function t)
An alternative using calc would be:
(require 'calc)
(defun day-diff (date1 date2)
"Calculate the difference of dates in days between DATE1-STR and DATE2-STR."
(interactive "sDate1:\nsDate2:")
(let ((ret (string-to-number (calc-eval (format "<%s>-<%s>" date1 date2)))))
(when (called-interactively-p 'any)
(message "Day difference: %s" ret))
ret))
If you omit the nice-to-have features this becomes almost a simple cell formula: (string-to-number (calc-eval (format "<%s>-<%s>" A1 A2))).
If you want to save the stuff in the spreadsheet you can put the defun in table cell A1. A more simple example:
(progn (defun day-diff (date1 date2) (string-to-number (calc-eval (format "<%s>-<%s>" date1 date2)))) (put 'day 'safe-function t) "Actual header")
To have a more convenient editing possibility you can switch to M-x lisp-mode.
There you find
^L
(ses-cell A1 "Actual Header" (progn (defun day-diff (date1 date2) (string-to-number (calc-eval (format "<%s>-<%s>" date1 date2)))) (put 'day 'safe-function t) "Actual header") nil nil)
which you can edit. But do not insert linebreaks! ses identifies cell-positions with line numbers in that file!
Another nice alternative is to put the definition of your function into the file-local variable list.
Switch to lisp-interaction mode by M-x lisp-interaction-mode.
Go to the end of the file. There you find the lines:
;; Local Variables:
;; mode: ses
;; End:
Add your function definition as eval to this list:
;; Local Variables:
;; mode: ses
;; eval:
;; (progn
;; (defun day-diff (date1 date2)
;; (string-to-number (calc-eval (format "<%s>-<%s>" date1 date2))))
;; (put 'day-diff 'safe-function t))
;; End:
You can add the progn without the comment characters ;. In this case even indentation works. Afterwards you can call comment-region for the progn.
You can save the file and run M-x normal-mode. Afterwards the function is defined and you can use it in the spreadsheet.

How to convert (day month year) to ( month day year)

My e-mails in Wanderlust have a header that looks like this:
Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 12:18:15 -0700
I would like to modify the beginning of my print-to-pdf function so that it searches the current buffer for the first date it finds (usually the first line of the buffer) and converts it into a proposed pdf-file-name that looks like this:
10_23_2013.pdf
The beginning of my print-to-pdf function looks like this:
(defun print-to-pdf (pdf-file-name)
"Print the current buffer to the given file."
(interactive (list
(ns-read-file-name "Write PDF file: " "/Users/HOME/.0.data/" nil ".pdf")))
(cond (
(not (equal pdf-file-name nil))
***
Can anyone think of a way to search for the date and turn it into a proposed pdf-file-name?
EDIT:  Here are some of the date string functions I found by grepping the Wanderlust code:
(defun wl-make-date-string ()
(let ((system-time-locale "C"))
(format-time-string "%a, %d %b %Y %T %z")))
(defsubst wl-get-date-iso8601 (date)
(or (get-text-property 0 'wl-date date)
(let* ((d1 (timezone-fix-time date nil nil))
(time (format "%04d%02d%02dT%02d%02d%02d"
(aref d1 0) (aref d1 1) (aref d1 2)
(aref d1 3) (aref d1 4) (aref d1 5))))
(put-text-property 0 1 'wl-date time date)
time)))
(defun wl-make-date-string ()
(let ((s (current-time-string)))
(string-match "\\`\\([A-Z][a-z][a-z]\\) +[A-Z][a-z][a-z] +[0-9][0-9]? *[0-9][0-9]?:[0-9][0-9]:[0-9][0-9] *[0-9]?[0-9]?[0-9][0-9]"
s)
(concat (wl-match-string 1 s) ", "
(timezone-make-date-arpa-standard s (current-time-zone)))))
(defun wl-date-iso8601 (date)
"Convert the DATE to YYMMDDTHHMMSS."
(condition-case ()
(wl-get-date-iso8601 date)
(error "")))
Here's the function.
If you can find a way to extract Wed, 23 Oct 2013 12:18:15 -0700, it will produce
10_23_2013.pdf.
(defun transform-date (s &optional shift)
(let ((time (apply 'encode-time
(org-read-date-analyze
s nil
(decode-time (current-time))))))
(when shift
(setq time (time-add time (days-to-time shift))))
(format-time-string "%m_%d_%Y.pdf" time)))
Here's a simple finder for the date:
(defun find-and-transform ()
(goto-char (point-min))
(when (re-search-forward "Date: \\([^:]*?\\)[0-9]+:")
(transform-date
(match-string-no-properties 1))))

How to search for a complete org headline that was saved as a variable

The function (org-heading-components) and (org-element-property) produce integers for the number of stars and also for the priority. I'd like to store the entire headline as a variable and then use re-search-forward (or a similar function) to go back to that heading, but I foresee the problem that will occur when it cannot find an integer. I need to store the whole heading as a variable, because I often have todo entries with duplicate titles but the other components are diferent.
For example, the following todo:
** Active [#A] Ask the geniuses on stackoverflow how to do this. :lawlist:
when evaluated with (org-heading-components) looks like this:
(2 2 "Active" 65 "Ask the geniuses on stackoverflow how to do this." ":lawlist:")
So, when storing that as a variable and later using re-search-forward there will be problems because 2 2 is not the same as **, and 65 is not the same as [#A].
(defun lawlist ()
(interactive)
(let* (
(beg (point))
(complete-heading (org-heading-components) ))
* * *
(goto-char (point-min))
(re-search-forward complete-heading nil t) ))
You should be able to convert the output as follows:
The first # is the current level (# of stars)
The second number is the reduced headline level, applicable if org-odd-levels-only is set, but this is not regarding output.
Todo keyword
Priority character (65 is ASCII code for A)
Headline text
Tags or nil
The following will return the headline string as shown in the buffer. It will not work with re-search-forward but will work with search-forward (It does not escape any characters).
(defun zin/search-test ()
(interactive)
(let ((head (org-element-interpret-data (org-element-at-point))))
(message "%s" (format "%s" (car (split-string head "\n"))))))
This does not set it to any variable, you'll have to wrap it in an appropriate function that will set your desired variable. Then use (search-forward <var> nil t) to match it, without it erroring out if it cannot find it.
There's a brilliant part of org that might suit you: org-id-copy and
org-id-goto. It works with precision across buffers and sessions:
org-id-copy produces a string. You can feed that string to
org-id-goto which will take you to that heading. Even if you've
closed the original buffer. Even if you've restarted Emacs.
EDIT (December 15, 2013):  Updated solution based upon the variable org-heading-regexp (defined within org.el) and a modification thereof to include (if it exists) a second line containing a deadline - i.e., lawlist-org-heading-regexp. The revision also includes a nifty function regexp-quote that was just taught to me by #Drew over on superuser: https://superuser.com/questions/688781/how-to-highlight-string-and-unhighlight-string-in-buffer-make-overlay?noredirect=1#comment874515_688781  (buffer-substring-no-properties beg end) is used to set the string as a variable.
EDIT (December 17, 2013):   Added isearch-highlight and isearch-dehighlight, and commented out highlight-regexp and unhighlight-regexp. When moving the point around with more complex functions, highlight-regexp does not reliably highlight the entire string -- this may be because the screen has not refreshed, or it may also be caused by other factors -- e.g., hl-line-mode, etc.) -- placing various sit-for 0 did not fix the issue with highlight-regexp -- isearch-highlight works better.
EDIT (January 6, 2014):  See also this related thread for a complete regexp to match any element of the entire todo from stars through to the end of the notes:  https://stackoverflow.com/a/20960301/2112489
(require 'org)
(defvar lawlist-org-heading-regexp
"^\\(\\*+\\)\\(?: +\\(.*?\\)\\)?[ \t]*\\(\n.*DEADLINE.*$\\)"
"Match headline, plus second line with a deadline.")
(defun example ()
(interactive)
(switch-to-buffer (get-buffer-create "foo"))
(org-mode)
(insert "* Example\n\n")
(insert "** Active [#A] This is an active todo. :lawlist:\n")
(insert " DEADLINE: <2013-12-15 Sun 08:00> SCHEDULED: <2013-12-15 Sun>\n\n")
(insert "** Next-Action [#B] This is an inactive todo. :lawlist:\n")
(insert " DEADLINE: <2013-12-16 Mon 08:00> SCHEDULED: <2013-12-16 Mon>")
(goto-char (point-min))
(sit-for 2)
(re-search-forward (regexp-quote "** Active [#A] "))
(sit-for 2)
(let ((init-pos (point)))
(org-back-to-heading t)
(let* (
lawlist-item-whole
lawlist-item-partial
(beg (point)))
(if (and
(looking-at org-heading-regexp)
(and (looking-at lawlist-org-heading-regexp) (match-string 3)))
(re-search-forward lawlist-org-heading-regexp nil t)
(re-search-forward org-heading-regexp nil t))
(let ((end (point)))
(setq lawlist-item-whole (buffer-substring-no-properties beg end))
(setq lawlist-item-partial (buffer-substring-no-properties beg init-pos))
(re-search-backward (regexp-quote lawlist-item-whole) nil t)
;; (highlight-regexp (regexp-quote lawlist-item-whole))
(isearch-highlight beg end)
(sit-for 2)
;; (unhighlight-regexp (regexp-quote lawlist-item-whole))
(isearch-dehighlight)
(re-search-forward (regexp-quote lawlist-item-partial) nil t)
(sit-for 2)
(kill-buffer "foo")))))
EDIT (October 27, 2013):  Prior solution that is being preserved temporarily as a historical part of the evolution process towards a final answer. However, it is no longer a preferred method.
(defun lawlist-org-heading-components ()
(org-back-to-heading t)
(if (let (case-fold-search) (looking-at org-complex-heading-regexp))
(concat
(cond
((equal (org-match-string-no-properties 1) "**")
"^[*][*]")
((equal (org-match-string-no-properties 1) "*")
"^[*]"))
(cond
((and (match-end 2) (aref (match-string 2) 1))
(concat " " (org-match-string-no-properties 2))))
(cond
((and (match-end 3) (aref (match-string 3) 2))
(concat " \\" (org-match-string-no-properties 3))))
(cond
((and (match-end 4) (aref (match-string 4) 3))
(concat " " (org-match-string-no-properties 4))))
(cond
((and (match-end 5) (aref (match-string 5) 4))
(concat " " (org-match-string-no-properties 5)))))))

org-deadline -- change all in selected block in one fell swoop

Could someone please steer me in the right direction towards automating this function so that I only type the date one time (or select it with the mouse from the built-in popup calendar) and hit the return key, and then it repeats the process all by itself until finished.
(setq org-loop-over-headlines-in-active-region t)
(defun change-all-deadlines ()
"Change all deadlines in the group of tasks that are selected / highlighted."
(interactive)
(org-deadline)
(org-map-entries)
(let (new-date
(minibuffer-message "Please insert the new date, and then press RET to continue.")
[User enters (with choice to use built-in calendar popup): July 5, 2013]
(format "%s" (new-date))
[Then magic happens automatically -- :)]
(minibuffer-message "Congratulations -- all dates have been changed to %s." new-date))))
EDIT: Here is the main function from .../lisp/org.el
(defun org-deadline (&optional remove time)
"Insert the \"DEADLINE:\" string with a timestamp to make a deadline.
With argument REMOVE, remove any deadline from the item.
With argument TIME, set the deadline at the corresponding date. TIME
can either be an Org date like \"2011-07-24\" or a delta like \"+2d\"."
(interactive "P")
(if (and (org-region-active-p) org-loop-over-headlines-in-active-region)
(let ((cl (if (eq org-loop-over-headlines-in-active-region 'start-level)
'region-start-level 'region))
org-loop-over-headlines-in-active-region)
(org-map-entries
`(org-deadline ',remove ,time)
org-loop-over-headlines-in-active-region
cl (if (outline-invisible-p) (org-end-of-subtree nil t))))
(let* ((old-date (org-entry-get nil "DEADLINE"))
(repeater (and old-date
(string-match
"\\([.+-]+[0-9]+[hdwmy]\\(?:[/ ][-+]?[0-9]+[hdwmy]\\)?\\) ?"
old-date)
(match-string 1 old-date))))
(if remove
(progn
(when (and old-date org-log-redeadline)
(org-add-log-setup 'deldeadline nil old-date 'findpos
org-log-redeadline))
(org-remove-timestamp-with-keyword org-deadline-string)
(message "Item no longer has a deadline."))
(org-add-planning-info 'deadline time 'closed)
(when (and old-date org-log-redeadline
(not (equal old-date
(substring org-last-inserted-timestamp 1 -1))))
(org-add-log-setup 'redeadline nil old-date 'findpos
org-log-redeadline))
(when repeater
(save-excursion
(org-back-to-heading t)
(when (re-search-forward (concat org-deadline-string " "
org-last-inserted-timestamp)
(save-excursion
(outline-next-heading) (point)) t)
(goto-char (1- (match-end 0)))
(insert " " repeater)
(setq org-last-inserted-timestamp
(concat (substring org-last-inserted-timestamp 0 -1)
" " repeater
(substring org-last-inserted-timestamp -1))))))
(message "Deadline on %s" org-last-inserted-timestamp)))))
The following code should do the trick. It's just a matter of asking the time separately and them passing it yourself to the org-deadline function.
(defun org/deadline (remove)
"like `org-deadline', except ask only once."
(interactive "P")
(unless remove (with-temp-buffer (org-time-stamp nil)))
(org-deadline remove org-last-inserted-timestamp))
(global-set-key [remap org-deadline] 'org/deadline)
EDIT: Simplified the function.

How to finish this job in emacs?

The original string is like this:
# chrom,name,strand,txStart
And the result should looks like this:
# $1: chrom
# $2: name
# $3: strand
# $4: txStart
Does anyone have idea of a quick way to do that?
Lots of ways.
You could use a search and replace making use of the \# counter in the replacement. That's zero-based, so you'd either need to add a dummy replacement at the front to use up the zero, or else use the elisp replacement expression \,(1+ \#) instead.
You could use a keyboard macro, and insert a counter with C-xC-kTAB or <f3>. You can seed that counter by supplying a prefix argument when you start recording.
On Emacs 24 you can number the lines of a marked region using a custom format string with C-uC-xrN, so your format string could be # $%1d:
Evaluate following code and execute foo function on input line.
(require 'cl)
(defun foo ()
(interactive)
(let* ((str (buffer-substring-no-properties
(line-beginning-position) (line-end-position)))
(words-str (and (string-match "# \\(.+\\)$" str)
(match-string 1 str)))
(buf (get-buffer-create "*tmp*")))
(unless words-str
(error "Line should be '# word1,word2,...'"))
(with-current-buffer buf
(erase-buffer)
(loop with index = 1
for word in (split-string words-str ",")
do
(progn
(insert (format "# $%d: %s\n" index word))
(incf index)))
(pop-to-buffer buf))))