Re: variable date format

[Ed Blackman]

On Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 04:36:00PM -0600, David Champion wrote:

Caveats: I remember this coming up but I don't remember exactly when or
in what context.  (If you have a URL where you got this I could double
check.)

The start of the thread is here: 
http://marc.info/?l=mutt-users&m=129426504121286&w=2

Part of the thread is about the date conditional patch that you use, but Andreas Kneib contributed the index_format script that he had gotten from de.comm.software.mailreader.misc. A couple people made improvements, and I went nuts with the concept. I'm not sure where the OP got his version. Mine has the correct index_format in the documentation comment block.

There should be two arguments to the script, but the $index_format
there passes only one.  You also need the current timestamp.

The simplest solution is probably to change the script: replace
this line:
   now="$2"                # local current time in epoch seconds
with this:
   now=$(date +%s)

But I haven't tested this.  Maybe Ed will see this and have a better
answer.

I use the attached script and the following index_format:

set index_format="/path/to/format_date '%[%s]' '%<%s>' |"



--
Ed Blackman

#!/bin/bash
# format_date
#
# In .muttrc:
# set index_format="/path/to/format_date '%[%s]' '%<%s>' |"
#
# 
http://groups.google.com/group/de.comm.software.mailreader.misc/browse_thread/thread/ab966bddc0b424
 46/421549103438b830?q=#421549103438b830
# via Andreas Kneib <apo...@web.de>
# mutt-users Message-ID: <20110105233817.ga23...@andreas.kneib.biz>
# Improvements by
# David Champion <d...@uchicago.edu>
# Ed Blackman <e...@edgewood.to>

msg_date="$1"                           # datetime of message in local timezone 
in epoch seconds
now="$2"                                # current time in local timezone in 
epoch seconds
msg_age="$(( ($now - $msg_date) / 86400 ))"             # age of message in 
integer days

if [ $msg_age -ge 30 ]; then
  format="%[%m/%d/%y]"                  # '01/20/11'
elif [ $msg_age -ge 7 ]; then
  format="%8[%b %d]"                    # '  Jan 20'
elif [ $msg_age -ge 1 ]; then
  format="%8[%a %-I%P]"                 # ' Thu 6pm'
else
  format="%[ %_I:%M%P]"                 # '  6:41pm'
fi

echo "%4C %Z $format %-15.15F (%?l?%4l&%4c?) %?H?[%H]?%s%"

That uses the %<%s> expando to avoid having to exec date to get the local current time in epoch seconds.

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