- time and date
-
In computing,
time
anddate
are commands that are used to display and set the current time and date of the operating system. Both commands are available in DOS, OS/2 and Microsoft Windows command line interpreters (shells) such asCOMMAND.COM
,cmd.exe
and 4DOS/4NT. The Unix commanddate
displays both the time and date, but does not allow the normal users to change either. Users with superuser privileges may usedate -s <new-date-time>
to change the time and date. The Unix commandtime
performs a different function. In Windows PowerShell,date
is a short form for theGet-Date
Cmdlet which returns the current system time object. TheSet
verb of the Cmdlet is used to set both date and time.Contents
Syntax
The syntax of both commands differs depending on the specific platform and implemenation:
Microsoft Windows (cmd.exe)
time [/t] [/time] [hours:[minutes[:seconds[.hundredths]]][{A|P}]]
date [/T | date]
Note: When these commands are called from the command line or a batch script, they will display the time or date and wait for the user to type a new time or date and press RETURN. The parameter '/t' will bypass asking the user to reset the time or date.
The format of the date parameter is dependent upon regional settings.
4DOS/4NT
TIME [/T] [hh[:mm[:ss]]] [AM | PM] hh: The hour (0 - 23). mm: The minute (0 - 59). ss: The second (0 - 59), set to 0 if omitted. /T: (display only)
DATE [/T] [mm-dd-yy] /T: (Display only) mm: The month (1 - 12). dd: The day (1 - 31). yy: The year (00 - 99, or a 4-digit year).
Windows PowerShell
Get-Date [[-Date] <DateTime>] [-Year <Int32>] [-Month <Int32>] [-Day <Int32>] [-Hour <Int32>] [-Minute <Int32>] [-Second <Int32>] ...
Set-Date [-Date] <DateTime> ... Set-Date [-Adjust] <TimeSpan> ...
OS/2 (cmd.exe)
TIME [hh-mm-ss] [/N]
DATE [mm-dd-yy] or [dd-mm-yy] or [yy-mm-dd] or [yy-dd-mm]
Note:
/N
means no prompt forTIME
. This parameter is not available in theDATE
command.Examples
Microsoft Windows (cmd.exe)
- To set the computer clock to 3:42 P.M., either of the following commands can be used:
C:\> time 15:42 C:\> time 3:42P
- To change the date to November 16, 1982, any of the following can be entered at the prompt:
C:\> date 11.16.82 11-16-82 11/16/82
- To display the current system date, type the following command:
date /t
4DOS/4NT
- Display the current system time:
C:\PROGRAM FILES\JPSOFT\4DOS>time /t 19:30:42
- Display the system date:
C:\PROGRAM FILES\JPSOFT\4DOS>date /t Wed 7.05.2008
Windows PowerShell
- Adjust the current system time by -5 minutes:
PS C:\>Set-Date -Adjust (New-TimeSpan -Minutes -5) Wednesday, May 07, 2008 7:25:42 PM
- Return the number of days between now and a given date:
PS C:\>((date) - (date 16 November 1982)).Days 9304
- Return the current system time and display it in a localized date and time format:
PS C:\>$culture = new-object Globalization.CultureInfo 'de-DE' PS C:\>(date).ToString($culture) 07.05.2008 19:30:42
OS/2 (cmd.exe)
- Display the current system time:
[C:\]time Current time is: 3:25 PM Enter the new time:
- Display the system date:
[C:\]date Current date is: Wed 2.12.2010 Enter the new date: (dd.mm.yy)
See also
- List of DOS commands
- List of Unix programs
- Date and time notation
References
Windows command line programs and built-ins (more) File system
(basic)File system
(advanced)Processes Registry User environment Text processing Shell programming Networking Searching Miscellaneous Categories:- MS-DOS/Windows Command Prompt commands
- DOS on IBM PC compatibles
- Microcomputer software
- Windows administration
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