www.delorie.com/gnu/docs/gcal/gcal_24.html

search

	Buy GNU books!

Gcal 3.01

5.1.3.1 Lists of days

A list of days is used to define recurrent fixed dates and to use only one line in the resource file for them, instead of using several lines in a resource file needed for defining these recurrent fixed dates separately.

A list of days is specified by a `,' separator character; it must contain two elements minimum and may have any number of elements. A single element of the list may not be set to a zero value and be not concrete therefore. (This would not make any sense in this context.)

Assuming a fixed date shall always occur on the 1st and the 15th day in every month of the year 1996, e.g. `Tax returns', one solution would be on the one hand a fixed date entry in the resource file for the 1st of the month and another entry for the 15th of the month, which would be a total of two entries in the resource file for such a fixed date.

On the other hand, this expense can be reduced to a total of only one entry in the resource file by using a list of days, which is likewise valid for the 1st and the 15th day in every month, that is

19960001,15 Tax returns

The use of lists of days in the date part is permitted as follows:

• yyyymmdd|www|wwwn,[mm]dd|[mm]www|[mm]wwwn ...

• yyyy*d|wn|nwww,n|nwww ...

• yyyy@e|t|dvar,|[+|-]n[www],[+|-]n[www] ...

Some examples to this:

000001fr3,12,99,mon,apr14,993,julfri3,08fr

In every year in January: on the 3rd Friday, on the 12th, on the last day of the month and on every Monday. And in every year: on the 14th April, on the 3rd December, on the 3rd Friday in July and on every Friday in August.

199600mon,fr,12

In the year 1996 in every month: on every Monday, on every Friday and on the 12th.

0*d1,1fr,999,17mo

In every year: on the first day of the year, on the 1st Friday of the year, on the last day of the year and on the 17th Monday of the year.

1996*w1fr,1,17mo,99fr

In the year 1996: on Friday of the 1st week, on Monday of the first week, on Monday of the 17th week and on Friday of the last week.

0@a,+1,-3,5,+4fr,2fr,-10sa

In every year: on the date of the date variable a, one day after the date of a, three days before the date of a, five days after the date of a, four Fridays after the date of a, two Fridays after the date of a and ten Saturdays before the date of a.

1996@e+1,-3,5,+4fr,2fr,-10sa

In the year 1996: one day after the Easter Sunday's date, three days before the Easter Sunday's date, five days after the Easter Sunday's date, four Fridays after the Easter Sunday's date, two Fridays after the Easter Sunday's date and ten Saturdays before the Easter Sunday's date.

1996@t+1,-3,5,+4fr,2fr,-10sa

In the year 1996: one day after today's date, three days before today's date, five days after today's date, four Fridays after the today's date, two Fridays after today's date and ten Saturdays before today's date.