@google-cloud/precise-date

What is @google-cloud/precise-date?

The @google-cloud/precise-date npm package provides a way to handle high-precision dates and times in JavaScript, particularly useful when dealing with databases like Google Cloud Spanner that require precise time specifications down to the nanosecond.

What are @google-cloud/precise-date's main functionalities?

Creating precise dates

This feature allows the creation of date objects that include nanosecond precision. It is particularly useful for applications that need to maintain high accuracy in time stamps, such as logging events in a distributed system or transactions in financial services.

const {PreciseDate} = require('@google-cloud/precise-date');
const preciseDate = new PreciseDate('2019-01-01T12:00:00.000000123Z');
console.log(preciseDate.toISOString());

Comparing precise dates

This feature allows for the comparison of two PreciseDate objects, returning -1, 0, or 1 depending on whether the first date is earlier, the same as, or later than the second date. This is useful for sorting or managing time-based data accurately.

const {PreciseDate} = require('@google-cloud/precise-date');
const date1 = new PreciseDate('2020-05-18T12:00:00.000000123Z');
const date2 = new PreciseDate('2020-05-18T12:00:00.000000124Z');
console.log(date1.compare(date2));

Other packages similar to @google-cloud/precise-date

moment

Moment.js is a popular date handling library that provides functions for parsing, validating, manipulating, and formatting dates. While it offers broad functionality for handling dates and times, it does not support nanosecond precision like @google-cloud/precise-date.

date-fns

date-fns is a modular date utility library. Similar to Moment.js, it offers a variety of date manipulation and formatting options but lacks support for nanosecond precision, making @google-cloud/precise-date more suitable for applications requiring extremely precise time measurements.

README

@google-cloud/precise-date

A simple utility for precise-dateing functions and classes.

Installing the package

It's unlikely you will need to install this package directly, as it will be installed as a dependency when you install other @google-cloud packages.

$ npm install --save @google-cloud/precise-date

Using the package

PreciseDate extends the native Date object, so you can use it in place of that or when you need nanosecond precision.

const {PreciseDate} = require('@google-cloud/precise-date');
const date = new PreciseDate('1547253035381101032');

date.toISOString();
// => 2019-01-12T00:30:35.381101032Z

date.toFullTimeString();
// => '1547253035381101032'

API

PreciseDate([time])

Returns a new date instance.

time

Type: string BigInt Object<string, number> [number, number]

// from a full ISO string
date = new PreciseDate('2019-02-08T10:34:29.481145231Z');

// from a string representing nanoseconds
date = new PreciseDate('1549622069481320032');

// from a BigInt representing nanoseconds (requires Node >= 10.7)
date = new PreciseDate(1549622069481320032n);

// from an object containing `seconds` and `nanos` values
date = new PreciseDate({seconds: 1549622069, nanos: 481320032});

// from a tuple representing [seconds, nanos]
date = new PreciseDate([1549622069, 481320032]);

PreciseDate.parseFull(time)

Similar to Date.parse(), but this accepts the same nanosecond time options as the PreciseDate constructor and returns a string representing the nanoseconds in the specified date according to universal time.

PreciseDate.parseFull('2019-02-08T10:34:29.481145231Z');
// => '1549622069481145231'

PreciseDate.fullUTCString(...dateFields)

Similar to Date.UTC(), but also accepts microsecond and nanosecond parameters. Returns a string that represents the number of nanoseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC.

dateFields

Type: ...number

PreciseDate.fullUTCString(2019, 1, 8, 10, 34, 29, 481, 145, 231);
// => '1549622069481145231'

PreciseDate.fullUTC(...dateFields)

Like PreciseDate.fullUTCString() but returns a native BigInt instead of a string. Requires Node >= 10.7.

dateFields

Type: ...number

PreciseDate.fullUTC(2019, 1, 8, 10, 34, 29, 481, 145, 231);
// => 1549622069481145231n

date

PreciseDate instance.

date.getFullTimeString()

Returns a string of the specified date represented in nanoseconds according to universal time.

date.getFullTime()

Like date.getFullTimeString() but returns a native BigInt instead of a string. Requires Node >= 10.7.

date.getMicroseconds()

Returns the microseconds in the specified date according to universal time.

date.getNanoseconds()

Returns the nanoseconds in the specified date according to universal time.

date.setMicroseconds(microseconds)

Sets the microseconds for a specified date according to universal time. Returns a string representing the nanoseconds in the specified date according to universal time.

microseconds

Type: number

date.setNanoseconds(nanoseconds)

Sets the nanoseconds for a specified date according to universal time. Returns a string representing the nanoseconds in the specified date according to universal time.

nanoseconds

Type: number

date.setFullTime(time)

Sets the time to the number of supplied nanoseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. Returns a string representing the nanoseconds in the specified date according to universal time (effectively, the value of the argument).

time

Type: number string BigInt

date.toStruct()

Returns an object representing the specified date according to universal time. Refer to google.protobuf.Timestamp for more information about this format.

const {seconds, nanos} = date.toStruct();

date.toTuple()

Like date.toStruct() but returns the seconds and nanos as a tuple.

const [seconds, nanos] = date.toTuple();

Versioning

This library follows Semantic Versioning.

Contributing

Contributions welcome! See the Contributing Guide.

License

Apache Version 2.0

See LICENSE