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    MFC: COleDateTime vs. CTime. Which one is better?

    Q: There are two MFC/ATL classes that encapsulate date and time: COleDateTime and CTime. Which one is better?

    A: Next are few arguments to prefer COleDateTime instead of CTime:

    1. CTime keeps date between January 1, 1970 and December 31, 3000 (January 19, 2038 in older implementations). That is not enugh for most applications. For example, in a database may be persons born before 1970.
      COleDateTime can handle date between January 1, 100 and December 31, 9999 which is pretty much better.
      Example
      Code:
      // my birth date is 
      CTime t(1961, 8, 17); // August 17, 1961
      
      CString strMyBirthDate = t.Format(_T("%m/%d/%Y"));
      // results "01/08/1984"; I would like it to be truw, but it's not. :)
      
      COleDateTime odt(1961, 8, 17, 0, 0, 0);
      strMyBirthDate = odt.Format(_T("%m/%d/%Y"));
      // results "08/17/1961", which is correct
    2. COleDateTime has more powerful, flexible and easier to use Format functions, while CTime is limited to Format functins taking formatting specifiers.
      Example
      Code:
      CTime t(2007, 9, 11, 8, 25, 55);
      // hard-coded date-time format (may be German)
      CString strDateTime = t.Format(_T("%d.%m.%Y %H:%M:%S"));
      // what about if English US, or Japanese, or another format is required at a moment?
      
      // that's no sweat, by using COleDateTime:
      COleDateTime odt(2007, 9, 11, 8, 25, 55);
      LCID lcid = 0x409; // 0x409 is the locale ID for English US
      strDateTime = odt.Format(0, lcid); 
      
      // and it's even easier if want to format according to user language set in Control Panel:
      strDateTime = odt.Format();
    3. COleDateTime has a ParseDateTime function while CTime has not.
      Example
      Code:
      COleDateTime odt;
      // set odt value given a date-time string
      odt.ParseDateTime(_T("9/12/2007 2:48:17 PM"), 0, 0x409); 
      // CTime has not such a member function
    4. COleDateTime has Set functions (SetDate and SetDateTime) while CTime has not.
      Example
      Code:
      COleDateTime odt(2007, 10, 10, 0, 0, 0);
      // sets a new value using SetDateTime:
      odt.SetDateTime(2008, 11, 11, 11, 11, 11);
      
      CTime t(2007, 10, 10, 0, 0, 0);
      // sets a new value assigning a temporary CTime object, like dancing on the rope. :)
      t = CTime(2008, 11, 11, 11, 11, 11);
    5. COleDateTime is more precise when dealing with relative time periods.
      Example
      Code:
      COleDateTime odt(1970, 9, 30, 0, 0, 0);
      odt += COleDateTimeSpan(31, 0, 0, 0);
      CString strTime1 = odt.Format(_T("%d.%m.%Y %H:%M:%S"));
      // results "31.10.1970 00:00:00" which is correct
      
      CTime t(1970, 9, 30, 0, 0, 0);
      t += CTimeSpan(31, 0, 0, 0);
      CString strTime2 = t.Format(_T("%d.%m.%Y %H:%M:%S"));
      // results "30.10.1970 23:00:00"
      // one hour is missing, jumping back in the previous day


    Additional notes:
    • In actual implementation, CTime, CTimeSpan, COleDateTime and COleDateTimeSpan are shared by MFC and ATL libraries, so can be easily used both in MFC and non-MFC applications.


    See also
    Last edited by ovidiucucu; October 4th, 2022 at 10:56 AM. Reason: added note and updated the links
    Ovidiu
    "When in Rome, do as Romans do."
    My latest articles: https://codexpertro.wordpress.com/

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