Represent Dates and Times in MATLAB
The primary way to store date and time information is in datetime arrays, which support arithmetic,
sorting, comparisons, plotting, and formatted display. The results of arithmetic differences are
returned in duration arrays or, when you use calendar-based functions, in calendarDuration
arrays.
For example, create a MATLAB datetime array that represents two dates: June 28, 2014 at 6 a.m. and
June 28, 2014 at 7 a.m. Specify numeric values for the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second
components for the datetime.
t = datetime(2014,6,28,6:7,0,0)
t =
28-Jun-2014 06:00:00
28-Jun-2014 07:00:00
Change the value of a date or time component by assigning new values to the properties of the
datetime array. For example, change the day number of each datetime by assigning new values to the
Day property.
t.Day = 27:28
t =
27-Jun-2014 06:00:00
28-Jun-2014 07:00:00
Change the display format of the array by changing its Format property. The following format does
not display any time components. However, the values in the datetime array do not change.
t.Format = 'MMM dd, yyyy'
t =
Jun 27, 2014
Jun 28, 2014
If you subtract one datetime array from another, the result is a duration array in units of fixed
length.
t2 = datetime(2014,6,29,6,30,45)
t2 =
29-Jun-2014 06:30:45
d = t2 - t
d =
48:30:45
23:30:45
By default, a duration array displays in the format, hours:minutes:seconds. Change the display
format of the duration by changing its Format property. You can display the duration value with a
single unit, such as hours.
d.Format = 'h'
d =
48.512 hrs
23.512 hrs
7 Dates and Time
7-2
The primary way to store date and time information is in datetime arrays, which support arithmetic,
sorting, comparisons, plotting, and formatted display. The results of arithmetic differences are
returned in duration arrays or, when you use calendar-based functions, in calendarDuration
arrays.
For example, create a MATLAB datetime array that represents two dates: June 28, 2014 at 6 a.m. and
June 28, 2014 at 7 a.m. Specify numeric values for the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second
components for the datetime.
t = datetime(2014,6,28,6:7,0,0)
t =
28-Jun-2014 06:00:00
28-Jun-2014 07:00:00
Change the value of a date or time component by assigning new values to the properties of the
datetime array. For example, change the day number of each datetime by assigning new values to the
Day property.
t.Day = 27:28
t =
27-Jun-2014 06:00:00
28-Jun-2014 07:00:00
Change the display format of the array by changing its Format property. The following format does
not display any time components. However, the values in the datetime array do not change.
t.Format = 'MMM dd, yyyy'
t =
Jun 27, 2014
Jun 28, 2014
If you subtract one datetime array from another, the result is a duration array in units of fixed
length.
t2 = datetime(2014,6,29,6,30,45)
t2 =
29-Jun-2014 06:30:45
d = t2 - t
d =
48:30:45
23:30:45
By default, a duration array displays in the format, hours:minutes:seconds. Change the display
format of the duration by changing its Format property. You can display the duration value with a
single unit, such as hours.
d.Format = 'h'
d =
48.512 hrs
23.512 hrs
7 Dates and Time
7-2