Display Formats for Date and Time Data
Display formats for date and time data typically apply a pattern to the data. For example, you can indicate whether you want a short form of the date or a long form, and whether to use space, slashes, or dashes as separators.
If you want to automatically apply the correct names of months and days, and the correct format for a specific locale, you can set the NLS locale using the $NLS_LOCALE assignment setting or $nlslocale ProcScript function to a specific locale. You can override the behavior specified by NLS locale by setting $NLS_FORMAT or $nlsformat. For more information, see Parsing and Displaying Date and Time Data.
Note: In dynamic server pages, display formats may not be applied as expected, depending on the data type of the field, the HTML control to which the field's widget resolves, and the browser used. For more information, see Display Formats for Date and Time in Dynamic Server Pages.
Date
| Display format | Explanation |
|---|---|
| d | Day number in one or two digits. |
| dd | Day number in two digits. |
| zd | Day number in two digits or one space and one digit. |
| aa | Two-letter abbreviation for day name; lowercase. |
| AA | Two-letter abbreviation for day name; uppercase. |
| Aa | Two-letter abbreviation for day name; initial letter is capitalized. |
| aa* | Full day name; lowercase. |
| AA* | Full day name; uppercase. |
| Aa* | Full day name; initial letter is capitalized. |
| aaa | Three-letter abbreviation for day name; lowercase. |
| AAA | Three-letter abbreviation for day name; uppercase. |
| Aaa | Three-letter abbreviation for day name; initial letter is capitalized. |
| m | Month number in one or two digits. |
| mm | Month number in two digits. |
| zm | Month number in two digits or one space and one digit. |
| mmm | Three-letter abbreviation for month; lowercase. |
| MMM | Three-letter abbreviation for month; uppercase. |
| Mmm | Three-letter abbreviation for month; initial letter is capitalized. |
| mmm* | Full month name; lowercase. |
| MMM* | Full month name; uppercase. |
| Mmm* | Full month name; initial letter is capitalized. |
| w | Week number in one or two digits. |
| ww | Week number in two digits. |
| zw | Week number in two digits or one space and one digit. |
| yy | Calendar year in two digits. |
| yy+nnn yy-nnn |
Calendar year in two digits, plus or minus number for automatic era correction. |
| yyyy | Calendar year in four digits. |
| yyyy+nnn yyyy-nnn |
Calendar year, plus or minus number for automatic era correction. |
| xx | Fiscal year in two digits. Not supported in DSPs. |
| xx+nnn xx-nnn |
Fiscal year in two digits, plus or minus number for automatic era correction. Not supported in DSPs. |
| xxxx | Fiscal year in four digits. Not supported in DSPs. |
| xxxx+nnn xxxx-nnn |
Fiscal year in four digits, plus or minus number for automatic era correction.Not supported in DSPs. |
| L code | Number of days, months or years as a linear value, using one of the above codes. Not supported in DSPs. |
Date Display Format Examples
| Display Format | Displayed (1) | Displayed (2) |
|---|---|---|
| Mmm* d, yyyy | March 16, 1995 | June 2, 2010 |
| AA, MMM d | WED, MAR 16 | THU, JUN 2 |
| dd/mm/yy | 16/03/95 | 02/06/10 |
| mm/dd/yy | 03/16/95 | 06/02/10 |
| d/m/yy | 16/3/95 | 2/6/10 |
| zd/zm/yy | 16/ 3/95 | 2/ 6/10 |
| dd-mm-yyyy+543 (for Thai era) 1 | 16-03-2538 | 02-06-2662 |
|
Lzd.yyyy 1 |
25 December, 1990 | 359.1990 |
| Ldd.mm.yyyy 1 | 25 December, 1990 | 25.12.1990 |
| Ldd.mm.yyyy 1 | 25 days and 11 months | 25.11.0 |
| 1Not supported in DSPs. | ||
Time
| Display format | Explanation |
|---|---|
| h | Hours in one or two digits. |
| hh | Hours in two digits. |
| zh | Hours in two digits or one space and one digit. |
| n | Minutes in one or two digits. |
| nn | Minutes in two digits. |
| zn | Minutes in two digits or one space and one digit. |
| s | Seconds in one or two digits. |
| ss | Seconds in two digits. |
| zs | Seconds in two digits or one space and one digit. |
| lh | Number of hours as linear value. Not supported in DSPs. |
| ln | Number of minutes as linear value. Not supported in DSPs. |
| ls | Number of seconds as linear value. Not supported in DSPs. |
| t | ‘Ticks’ (1/100 seconds). |
Time Display Format Examples
| Display format | Displayed | |
|---|---|---|
| hh:nn | 16:15 or 09:05 | |
| h:nn | 16:15 or 9:05 | |
| hh:nn.ss | 16:15.2 or 09:05.0 | |
| h:nn.s | 16:15.2 or 9:05.3 | |
| zh:zm.zs | 16:15.2 or 9: 5. 3 | |
| Lzzd.zh.zn.zs 1 | 27 days, 3 hours, 31 minutes | 27.3.31.0 |
| Lzzd.zh.zn.zs 1 | 71 minutes, 29 seconds | 0.1.11.29 |
| 1Not supported in DSPs. | ||
|
Display format |
Displayed |
|---|---|
|
dd MMM yyyy hh:nn:ss |
2 APR 1991 14:15:39 |
$NLS Display Formats for Date and Time
You can apply a locale-based display format to a date or time field using the $NLS format.
On Windows
, if $nlsLocale is set to system:
- For the date,
MEDIUMis mapped toSHORT, andFULLis mapped toLONG - For the time, all are mapped to
SHORT
In dynamic server pages, $NLS formats can be applied, but text will be in English.
| Display Format | Shorthand Syntax | Locale | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
$NLS(SHORT)
|
DIS($NLS(SHORT))
|
SHORT format for the data type and locale | |
$NLS(SHORT, DATE)
|
DIS($NLS(SHORT,
DATE))
|
en_US | 2/23/10 |
| en_GB1 | 23/02/2010 | ||
| fr_CA1 | 10-02-23 | ||
$NLS(SHORT, TIME)
|
DIS($NLS(SHORT,
TIME))
|
en_US | 9:13 AM |
| en_GB1 | 09:13 | ||
| fr_CA1 | 09:13 | ||
$NLS(SHORT, DATIM)
|
DIS($NLS(SHORT,
DATIM))
|
en_US | 2/23/10 09:13 |
| en_GB1 | 23/02/2010 09:13 | ||
| fr_CA1 | 10-02-23 09:13 | ||
$NLS(MEDIUM)
|
DIS($NLS(MEDIUM))
|
MEDIUM format for the data type and locale | |
$NLS(MEDIUM, DATE)
|
DIS($NLS(MEDIUM,
DATE))
|
en_US | Feb 23, 2010 |
| en_GB1 | 23 Feb 2010 | ||
| fr_CA1 | 2010-02-23 | ||
$NLS(MEDIUM, TIME)
|
DIS($NLS(MEDIUM,
TIME))
|
en_US | 9:13:33 AM |
| en_GB1 | 09:13:33 | ||
| fr_CA1 | 09:13:33 | ||
$NLS(MEDIUM, DATIM)
|
DIS($NLS(MEDIUM,
DATIM))
|
en_US | Feb 23, 2010 |
| en_GB1 | 23 Feb 2010 09:13:33 | ||
| fr_CA1 | 2010-02-23 09:13:33 | ||
$NLS(LONG)
|
DIS($NLS(LONG))
|
LONG format for the data type and locale | |
$NLS(LONG, DATE)
|
DIS($NLS(LONG, DATE))
|
en_US | February 23, 2010 |
| en_GB1 | 23 February 2010 | ||
| fr_CA1 | 23 février 2010 | ||
$NLS(LONG, TIME)
|
DIS($NLS(LONG, TIME))
|
en_US | 9:13:33 AM |
| en_UK1 | 09:13:33 | ||
| fr_CA1 | 09:13:33 | ||
$NLS(LONG, DATIM)
|
DIS($NLS(LONG,
DATIM))
|
en_US | February 23, 2010 9:13:33 AM |
| en_GB1 | 23 February 2010 09:13:33 | ||
| fr_CA1 | 23 février 2010 09:13:33 | ||
$NLS(FULL)
|
DIS($NLS(FULL))
|
FULL format for the data type and locale | |
$NLS(FULL, DATE)
|
DIS($NLS(FULL, DATE))
|
en_US | Tuesday, February 23, 2010 |
| en_GB1 | Tuesday, 23 February 2010 | ||
| fr_CA1 | mardi 23 février 2010 | ||
$NLS(FULL, TIME)
|
DIS($NLS(FULL, TIME))
|
en_US | 9:13:33 AM |
| en_GB1 | 09:13:33 | ||
| fr_CA1 | 09:13:33 | ||
$NLS(FULL, DATIM)
|
DIS($NLS(FULL,
DATIM))
|
en_US | Tuesday, February 23, 2010 9:13:33 AM |
| en_GB1 | Tuesday, 23 February 2010 09:13:33 | ||
| fr_CA1 | mardi 23 février 2010 09:13:33 | ||
$NLS(FormatPattern)
|
DIS($NLS(FormatPattern))
For example:
|
en_US | Tuesday, 23-February-2010 |
| en_GB1 | Tuesday, 23-February-2010 | ||
| fr_CA1 | Mardi, 23-Février-2010 | ||
| 1Locale is ignored and English text is used unless $webinfo("locale") has been set. | |||
Japanese Era Date Formats
The traditional dating system in Japan as based on the reigns of the emperors. Uniface provides language setups for modern Japanese eras in libmsg.usys.xml.
| Date | Japanese Era (Kanji) | Japanese Era (Western) |
|---|---|---|
| 1868-1912 |
明治 |
Meiji |
| 1912-1926 |
大正 |
Taishō |
| 1926-1989 |
昭和 |
Shōwa |
| 1989-2019 |
平成 |
Heisei |
| 2019 to present |
令和 |
Reiwa |
To display the Japanese era, set the field layout
definition to J or JJ. For example: dis(j-mm-dd)
displays
平成 10-08-11
Note: You must have the Kanji font available on your machine.
