Question

What is the standard terminology for dates in FME?

Answer

The standard terminology for dates (and times) in FME is any of:

• yyyymmdd
• hhmmss[.x+][(+/-)zz]
• yyyymmddhhmmss[.x+][(+/-)zz]

Where:

• yyyy is the year in 4 digits, eg 2006
• mm is the month number, eg 07 for July
• dd is the day of the month, eg 21
• hh is the hour (24 hour clock - eg 14 for 2pm)
• mm is the number of minutes
• ss is the number of seconds
• [.x+] is the optional fraction of a second, represented by one or more digits
• [(+/-)zz] is the optional timezone (compared to GMT, so -08 is Pacific Time Zone PST)

For example, the time (08:37:10, 8 Sep 2006 (PST)) is: