DateTime::Duration(3)

NAME
DateTime::Duration - Duration objects for date math

VERSION
version 1.66

SYNOPSIS
    use DateTime::Duration;

    $dur = DateTime::Duration->new(
        years        => 3,
        months       => 5,
        weeks        => 1,
        days         => 1,
        hours        => 6,
        minutes      => 15,
        seconds      => 45,
        nanoseconds  => 12000,
        end_of_month => 'limit',
    );

    my ( $days, $hours, $seconds )
        = $dur->in_units( 'days', 'hours', 'seconds' );

    # Human-readable accessors, always positive, but consider using
    # DateTime::Format::Duration instead
    $dur->years;
    $dur->months;
    $dur->weeks;
    $dur->days;
    $dur->hours;
    $dur->minutes;
    $dur->seconds;
    $dur->nanoseconds;

    $dur->is_wrap_mode;
    $dur->is_limit_mode;
    $dur->is_preserve_mode;

    print $dur->end_of_month_mode;

    # Multiply all values by -1
    my $opposite = $dur->inverse;

    my $bigger  = $dur1 + $dur2;
    my $smaller = $dur1 - $dur2;    # the result could be negative
    my $bigger  = $dur1 * 3;

    my $base_dt = DateTime->new( year => 2000 );
    my @sorted
        = sort { DateTime::Duration->compare( $a, $b, $base_dt ) } @durations;

    if ( $dur->is_positive ) {...}
    if ( $dur->is_zero )     {...}
    if ( $dur->is_negative ) {...}

DESCRIPTION
This is a simple class for representing duration objects. These objects are used whenever you do date math with DateTime.

See the How DateTime Math Works section of the DateTime documentation for more details. The short course: One cannot in general convert between seconds, minutes, days, and months, so this class will never do so. Instead, create the duration with the desired units to begin with, for example by calling the appropriate subtraction/delta method on a DateTime object.

METHODS
Like DateTime itself, "DateTime::Duration" returns the object from mutator methods in order to make method chaining possible.

"DateTime::Duration" has the following methods:

  DateTime::Duration->new( ... )
This class method accepts the following parameters:

•   years

    An integer containing the number of years in the duration. This is optional.

•   months

    An integer containing the number of months in the duration. This is optional.

•   weeks

    An integer containing the number of weeks in the duration. This is optional.

•   days

    An integer containing the number of days in the duration. This is optional.

•   hours

    An integer containing the number of hours in the duration. This is optional.

•   minutes

    An integer containing the number of minutes in the duration. This is optional.

•   seconds

    An integer containing the number of seconds in the duration. This is optional.

•   nanoseconds

    An integer containing the number of nanoseconds in the duration. This is optional.

•   end_of_month

    This must be either "wrap", "limit", or "preserve". This parameter specifies how date math that crosses the end of a month is handled.

    In "wrap" mode, adding months or years that result in days beyond the end of the new month will roll over into the following month. For instance, adding one year to Feb 29 will result in Mar 1.

    If you specify "limit", the end of the month is never crossed. Thus, adding one year to Feb 29, 2000 will result in Feb 28, 2001. If you were to then add three more years this will result in Feb 28, 2004.

    If you specify "preserve", the same calculation is done as for "limit" except that if the original date is at the end of the month the new date will also be. For instance, adding one month to Feb 29, 2000 will result in Mar 31, 2000.

    For positive durations, this parameter defaults to "wrap". For negative durations, the default is "preserve". This should match how most people "intuitively" expect datetime math to work.

All of the duration units can be positive or negative. However, if any of the numbers are negative, the entire duration is negative.

All of the numbers must be integers.

Internally, years as just treated as 12 months. Similarly, weeks are treated as 7 days, and hours are converted to minutes. Seconds and nanoseconds are both treated separately.

  $dur->clone
Returns a new object with the same properties as the object on which this method was called.

  $dur->in_units( ... )
Returns the length of the duration in the units (any of those that can be passed to "DateTime::Duration->new") given as arguments. All lengths are integral, but may be negative. Smaller units are computed from what remains after taking away the larger units given, so for example:

    my $dur = DateTime::Duration->new( years => 1, months => 15 );

    $dur->in_units('years');                # 2
    $dur->in_units('months');               # 27
    $dur->in_units( 'years', 'months' );    # (2, 3)
    $dur->in_units( 'weeks', 'days' );      # (0, 0) !

The last example demonstrates that there will not be any conversion between units which don't have a fixed conversion rate. The only conversions possible are:

•   years <=> months

•   weeks <=> days

•   hours <=> minutes

•   seconds <=> nanoseconds

For the explanation of why this is the case, please see the How DateTime Math Works section of the DateTime documentation

Note that the numbers returned by this method may not match the values given to the constructor.

In list context, "$dur->in_units" returns the lengths in the order of the units given. In scalar context, it returns the length in the first unit (but still computes in terms of all given units).

If you need more flexibility in presenting information about durations, please take a look a DateTime::Format::Duration.

  $dur->is_positive, $dur->is_zero, $dur->is_negative
Indicates whether or not the duration is positive, zero, or negative.

If the duration contains both positive and negative units, then it will return false for all of these methods.

  $dur->is_wrap_mode, $dur->is_limit_mode, $dur->is_preserve_mode
Indicates what mode is used for end of month wrapping.

  $dur->end_of_month_mode
Returns one of "wrap", "limit", or "preserve".

  $dur->calendar_duration
Returns a new object with the same calendar delta (months and days only) and end of month mode as the current object.

  $dur->clock_duration
Returns a new object with the same clock deltas (minutes, seconds, and nanoseconds) and end of month mode as the current object.

  $dur->inverse( ... )
Returns a new object with the same deltas as the current object, but multiplied by -1. The end of month mode for the new object will be the default end of month mode, which depends on whether the new duration is positive or negative.

You can set the end of month mode in the inverted duration explicitly by passing an "end_of_month" parameter to the "$dur->inverse" method.

  $dur->add_duration($duration_object), $dur->subtract_duration($duration_object)
Adds or subtracts one duration from another.

  $dur->add( ... ), $dur->subtract( ... )
These accept either constructor parameters for a new "DateTime::Duration" object or an already-constructed duration object.

  $dur->multiply($number)
Multiplies each unit in the "DateTime::Duration" object by the specified integer number.

  DateTime::Duration->compare( $duration1, $duration2, $base_datetime )
This is a class method that can be used to compare or sort durations. Comparison is done by adding each duration to the specified DateTime object and comparing the resulting datetimes. This is necessary because without a base, many durations are not comparable. For example, 1 month may or may not be longer than 29 days, depending on what datetime it is added to.

If no base datetime is given, then the result of "DateTime->now" is used instead. Using this default will give non-repeatable results if used to compare two duration objects containing different units. It will also give non-repeatable results if the durations contain multiple types of units, such as months and days.

However, if you know that both objects only consist of one type of unit (months or days or hours, etc.), and each duration contains the same type of unit, then the results of the comparison will be repeatable.

  $dur->delta_months, $dur->delta_days, $dur->delta_minutes, $dur->delta_seconds, $dur->delta_nanoseconds
These methods provide the information DateTime needs for doing date math. The numbers returned may be positive or negative. This is mostly useful for doing date math in DateTime.

  $dur->deltas
Returns a hash with the keys "months", "days", "minutes", "seconds", and "nanoseconds", containing all the delta information for the object. This is mostly useful for doing date math in DateTime.

  $dur->years, $dur->months, $dur->weeks, $dur->days, $dur->hours, $dur->minutes, $dur->seconds, $dur->nanoseconds
These methods return numbers indicating how many of the given unit the object represents, after having done a conversion to any larger units. For example, days are first converted to weeks, and then the remainder is returned. These numbers are always positive.

Here's what each method returns:

    $dur->years       == abs( $dur->in_units('years') )
    $dur->months      == abs( ( $dur->in_units( 'months', 'years' ) )[0] )
    $dur->weeks       == abs( $dur->in_units( 'weeks' ) )
    $dur->days        == abs( ( $dur->in_units( 'days', 'weeks' ) )[0] )
    $dur->hours       == abs( $dur->in_units( 'hours' ) )
    $dur->minutes     == abs( ( $dur->in_units( 'minutes', 'hours' ) )[0] )
    $dur->seconds     == abs( $dur->in_units( 'seconds' ) )
    $dur->nanoseconds == abs( ( $dur->in_units( 'nanoseconds', 'seconds' ) )[0] )

If this seems confusing, remember that you can always use the "$dur->in_units" method to specify exactly what you want.

Better yet, if you are trying to generate output suitable for humans, use the "DateTime::Format::Duration" module.

  Overloading
This class overloads addition, subtraction, and mutiplication.

Comparison is not overloaded. If you attempt to compare durations using "<=>" or "cmp", then an exception will be thrown! Use the "compare" class method instead.

SEE ALSO
datetime@perl.org mailing list

SUPPORT
Support for this module is provided via the datetime@perl.org email list. See http://lists.perl.org/ for more details.

Bugs may be submitted at <https://github.com/houseabsolute/DateTime.pm/issues>.

There is a mailing list available for users of this distribution, <mailto:datetime@perl.org>.

SOURCE
The source code repository for DateTime can be found at <https://github.com/houseabsolute/DateTime.pm>.

AUTHOR
Dave Rolsky <autarch@urth.org>

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
This software is Copyright (c) 2003 - 2025 by Dave Rolsky.

This is free software, licensed under:

  The Artistic License 2.0 (GPL Compatible)

The full text of the license can be found in the LICENSE file included with this distribution.