Convert UTC / Epoch Time to Human Time

[Mebejedi]

1) Give a description of the problem

Cannot convert UTC code into the correct date (Biggest Problem), and cannot pull code correctly from [device:since] (Smaller problem - or no problem if I can’t solve UTC problem.)

2) What is the expected behaviour?

I created a piston that uses Life360 to tell me where my family members are, and it works well. That said, I noticed Life360 has a “since” setting, which I’m trying to incorporate (“Derek has been at Grandma’s since 4:36”)

3) What is happening/not happening?

Unfortunately, the “since” data is in UTC, and I’ve tried every possible combination of variables, strings, and datetime codes to get “1574987768” to equal “Thursday, November 28th 2019, 4:36”. On https://www.epochconverter.com/ , I can get “1574987768” and “1574987768000” (3 added zeroes to get the full 13-digit format) to get this date:

I’ve located several threads with bits and pieces of this puzzle, but I still haven’t figured the correct formatting.

Speaking Correct Time Format

1) Give a description of the problem I am working on two pistons that will be triggered by Ask Alexa. One updates a global variable of type Time (time only) when a user tells Alexa “The dog was fed.” The other will read back the time the dog was fed when someone asks Alexa “What time was the dog fed?” For some reason, I cannot get Lannouncer to leave off the time zone. The time is spoken correctly (e.g., 2:21 PM) but MST (mountain standard time) is also spoken. I think I’m formatting the variab…

How to set variable with date of last event

How can you set a variable for the time an event occurred? Specifically I’m using the smart weather device and want the variable to be the last time it rained. Also not sure if im supposed to use a dynamic variable or the date and time variable. [image] I’m obviously not setting the variable correctly as it is now because it show up as a series of numbers. [image] Lastly I’m looking to getting some feedback if I’m using the best method to setting the variable for the windows’s Contact sens…

Device status information in an expression

I’m trying to figure out how to return specific device details in a notification from webCoRe. For example, I want a notification with the text “motion sensor [name] is [status]” (where status is active/inactive)… I want to do this for a handful of devices, but I can’t seem to figure out how to get access to device information within an expression. I have found the variables $device and $state and I’ve seen in the docs that you simply use [device_name] to access the device, but I don’t quite …

Trying to understand Time functions

Thanks, milhouse… I understand what you are telling me, but still think I’m missing something. When you say “on the code page of a piston” do you mean the piston I am trying to write? I’m feeling dense here, because when I’m trying to build the code line that will set the light level, depending on the time of day, I don’t find any sort of menu or pull-down that will plug the system variable into the expression. I’ve done coding before (it’s been a long, long time), but it was all just type i…

Parse Time stamp

**4) Post a Green Snapshot of the piston![image|45x37]

This is just a generic piston I came up with to test all the different possibilities. I posted the regular screenshot to show some of the data I’ve been receiving.

Here’s the actual piston, but it’s still a work in progress while I try to figure this out. If I can’t, I’ll just go back to an earlier piston that just provides the location.

[guxdude]

Not sure exactly what you are trying to do but did a quick search and came up with this conversion. This works for Pacific Standard Time. Will need to use the appropriate offset depending on time zone/DST for the full conversion.

(Sorry for the poor pic, best I can do on my iPad)

[guxdude]

Sorry, this one shows the result.

[WCmore]

Just curious, is the “-8” based on your time zone?

[guxdude]

Yes, PST is GMT-8. Change that number for your time zone. Also +1 if currently in DST.

[Mebejedi]

Well, I appreciate the effort - especially at 1:00 in the morning - but it’s not giving the minutes (should be 4:36). It’s amazing that such a thing is so difficult to do in Webcore.

And it appears my date formatting is different. (Where’s that setting at?)

When it does say the time, it says “four oh oh, oh oh PST”. I just wanted “four thirty-six PM” I know @WCmore uses some code to transcode the minutes of current time to “o’clock” and “oh 5”, but I wouldn’t know how to apply that to this variable. I guess I’ll just stay with the “arriving” and “leaving” piston.

[WCmore]

When it does say the time, it says “four oh oh, oh oh PST”. I just wanted “four thirty-six PM”

You still have to get it reduced to the expected time format, but afterwards, I sometimes create code something like this:

Using a string variable {myMinutes}, it creates a very “human” element to the voice alert.

IE:

• The sun is rising at 4 o’clock
• The sun is rising at 4 ‘oh’ 8
• The sun is rising at 4 28

[guxdude]

A little more effort to break it down but the math is the same. Here you go with calculation down to the second.

And, FYI, I am not doing this at 1 AM. I am currently on vacation in Australia and just doing this a bit at night when relaxing in our room.

[guxdude]

@WCmore thank you for this. I have a piston where this has been bugging me. I combined your logic with something else you taught me to come up with this expression.

[WCmore]

Nice conversion into an Expression, @guxdude…

[WCmore]

I am currently on vacation … and (coding) at night when relaxing in our room

Only a true programmer can relate to this… I often find myself unwinding after a long day by doing the same… It is a very effective way to “clear the cobwebs”… LOL

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Bonus points for finding a partner who is OK with this…

[Mebejedi]

I’m afraid it’s still not working. The piston is focusing on today’s date (even though my son has been home sick for 2 days), and the times are wrong. I did get this error for the DST line, but I don’t know if it’s the problem.

Here’s the “final” piston, though without correct times, I can’t use it. I’ll post the top of the non-anonymized piston to show the outputs.

Anyways, this piston is becoming a beast…so I’ll just go back to announcing locations without time.

[WCmore]

I’m about to walk out the door, but I couldn’t help but notice this error:

Global variables are not created or set at the top of pistons. (please delete that line)

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Instead, you want to create global variables by:

• Going into ‘Edit’ mode for any piston
• Click on “+ add a new global variable” found in the bottom right column:

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Also, normally globals have only a single @ at the beginning… Only use two @@ if you need to span instances… but in that case, don’t use it with data that changes often.

In other words, 99% of all globals should only have a single @.

[Mebejedi]

That’s what was in guxdude’s code. I’d never seen anything like that before, and it forced me to create a variable. I figured he probably had a global variable with that name, but wasn’t sure.

[WCmore]

Double @@ are “SuperGlobals Variables”, but I have found them to be unreliable as compared to ‘regular’ globals. They do occasionally have a use, but I only use them extremely rarely… and only with data that does not change.

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If you are curious, here is the logic behind my reasoning.
(Cliff Note version: They don’t always update properly)

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Using a single @ global is the way to go…

[WCmore]

@guxdude, can you elaborate a bit for @Mebejedi’s benefit about the contents of your @@DST?

It’s an integer that changes twice a year, right?

[Mebejedi]

Oh, that would make sense. I was wondering how he accounted for that. I assumed it was a system variable.

[guxdude]

Sorry, @@DST is a Boolean. That is why I can use it in the ternary operator. I created a piston that changes it on the second Sunday in March and first Sunday in November. Didn’t need to be a super global at this point but I figured it would change rarely enough to be ok.

[Mebejedi]

What would you use the DST Superglobal for?

Another question…I’ve still got your UTC>Human piston, because a part of me won’t give up on making this work (your piston works, just not within mine). I’ve tried storing the UTC time as a global variable to send over the the UTC piston, do a conversion, and send the result back to my WhereIsEverybody piston (because I’m loathe to put all that coding for all 4 devices), but apparently I can’t create the global variable as a LongNumber variable. Is there any other way this might be possible?

[guxdude]

Great idea. You can try just using an integer. There might be enough precision I just used long because that was what you had. Not sure what the precision of the global integer is. Separating the conversion makes sense. You would just need to define a global integer @epochDate and string @stringDate. Use as

Set variable @epochDate=inputDate
Call piston ‘Convert Date’
Set variable outputDate=@stringDate

For testing I would change @@DST to a local variable

Boolean DST=false

Then replace the @@DST with DST. Just be sure the DST definition is before it is used. Or even simpler, just hard code DSToffset=-8 for now.

Also, be sure to replace EpochDate and stringDate with your global versions in every place they show up. Delete the local variables to avoid confusion.

Let me know if you have any more questions. Happy to help.