HELP
An object that outputs a constant date and
time value.  Date/Time takes an input date
and time and converts it to the number of
seconds between the input and the beginning
of the Epoch (defined as beginning at 0000
hours UTC January 1, 0001 AD).

USE
Use Date/Time to display the time and date at
the moment an object or data is created.  To
input an array, press tab to enter the next
value.

Date/Time can be used to calculate elapsed
time between a past and current event by
comparing the two mathematically.

To change a value such as the day, date,
or time, type the value.  For example, typing
Fri changes Thu 28/Mar/1991 15:43:33 to Fri
29/Mar/1991 15:43:33.  If you don't specify a
value, the current day, date, or time is
displayed.  If you change just one of these
the other time elements will stay the same.

LOCATION
Data ==> Constant ==> Date/Time

EXAMPLE
You can use Date/Time to determine the length
of time that has passed between the moment a
specific piece of experimental data was
produced and another moment in time, either
past or present.  Use a Date/Time box to
enter the new, arbitrary date then take the
difference between the original, experimental
data and the new arbitrary date.

To determine the length of time it takes
for all or part of your model to execute, use
Timer or Time Stamp.

OBJECT MENU

* Auto Execute - If set, the object operates
whenever the values in the field are edited.

* Config - Sets the initial number of values
to be output with this object.

* Initialize - Used to set this object to a
particular value at PreRun and/or Activate
time.

  * Initial Value - A dialog box that
specifies the value to be set.  Default value
is the zero value of that container type.

  * Initialize At PreRun - Whether to set the
Initial Value at PreRun time.  Default is
off.

  * Initialize At Activate - Whether to set
the Initial Value at Activate time.  Default
is off.

NOTES
Initialize is most often used for
initializing values inside a UserObject.

The other method for setting initial
values is the Default Value control pin.  The
Default Value pin allows you to
programmatically change the current value.

Note that the Initial Value field is
always a scalar, even if Date/Time is
configured to be an array.  The Default Value
input pin, however, requires its input
container to match the shape of the
Date/Time.

NOTES
The default value control input should be a
valid Date/Time string as given by the parse
rules for date/time constants.  These are the
same rules as those for Direct I/O.

The Date/Time constant is different from
the Time Stamp which gives the number of
seconds between the beginning of the Epoch
and the current date only.

You can display Date/Time output in
AlphaNumeric or Logging AlphaNumeric by using
the Real number format:  Time Stamp.

SEE ALSO
Time Stamp and Timer.
