Other Functions Used By Epoch

In addition to the core code that makes up Epoch, several other functions have been added to improve on existing DOM functionality, as well as account for different implementations between browsers.

These functions can be used anywhere on your page; not just in Epoch, as long as Epoch_classes.js is sourced to your page.

JavaScript Date Object Additions

To provide extra functionality to the JavaScript Date object and reduce overall code complexity, several functions have been added to the standard functions available.

You can access these functions in the same manner as the standard Date methods, i.e. var prettydate = mydate.dateFormat('Y-m-d');

Date::getDayOfYear()

Returns the day of the year (0 to 365/366) for this date.

Arguments

(none)

Return Values

int

Date::getWeek()

Returns the week number for this date. dowOffset is the day of week the week "starts" on for your locale - it can be from 0 to 6. If dowOffset is 1 (Monday), the week returned is the ISO week number.

Arguments

int dowOffset (default 0)

Return Values

int

Date::getUeDay()

Returns the number of DAYS since the UNIX Epoch – good for comparing the date portion without taking into account the time.

Arguments

(none)

Return Values

int

Date::dateFormat(format)

Formats the date in the format specified in format. If format is NOT set, it will default to the ISO 8601 date/time standard (i.e. 2006-04-05 20:52:21), or to a format set by the user. The format string components are the same as the PHP date() function, with minor exceptions.

Arguments

string format

Return Values

string

Usage

The format string consists of the following abbreviations:

Days

format character	Description	Example returned values
d	Day of the month, 2 digits with leading zeros	01 to 31
D	A textual representation of a day, three letters	Mon through Sun
j	Day of the month without leading zeros	1 to 31
l (lowercase 'L')	A full textual representation of the day of the week	Sunday through Saturday

Months

format character	Description	Example returned values
F	A full textual representation of a month, such as January or March	January through December
m	Numeric representation of a month, with leading zeros	01 through 12
M	A short textual representation of a month, three letters	Jan through Dec
n	Numeric representation of a month, without leading zeros	1 through 12

Years

format character	Description	Example returned values
Y	A full numeric representation of a year, 4 digits	1999 or 2003
y	A two digit representation of a year	99 or 03

Times

format character	Description	Example returned values
a	Lowercase Ante meridiem and Post meridiem	am or pm
A	Uppercase Ante meridiem and Post meridiem	AM or PM
g	12-hour format of an hour without leading zeros	1 through 12
G	24-hour format of an hour without leading zeros	0 through 23
h	12-hour format of an hour with leading zeros	01 through 12
H	24-hour format of an hour with leading zeros	00 through 23
i	Minutes with leading zeros	00 to 59
s	Seconds, with leading zeros	00 through 59

DOM-related functions

Some of these functions exist to mediate the differences of DOM implementation between different browsers, while others are added to make certain DOM-related operations easier and faster.

addEventHandler(element, type, func)

Dynamically adds an event handler function to an element – use this function instead of direct event handler assignment (i.e. obj.onclick=xxx)when possible, since it allows you to have multiple event handlers for the same element. This function is a workaround to deal with Internet Explorer's nonstandard DOM event model.

Arguments

HTMLElement element
string type
function func

Return Values

(none)

Usage

type can be any one of the standard DOM events (click, mousedown, submit, focus, etc).

removeEventHandler(element, type, func)

Dynamically adds an event handler function to an element – use this function instead of direct event handler assignment when possible, since it allows you to have multiple event handlers for the same element. This function is a workaround to deal with Internet Explorer's poorly-implemented DOM event model.

Arguments

HTMLElement element
string type
function func

Return Values

(none)

Usage

type can be any one of the standard DOM events (click, mousedown, submit, focus, etc).

function getTop(element)

Returns the absolute Top value of element, in pixels

Arguments

HTMLElement element

Return Values

int

function getLeft(element)

Returns the absolute Left value of element, in pixels

Arguments

HTMLElement element

Return Values

int