std:time

The std:time module provides functions for working with timestamps, formatting dates and times, and controlling delays. It is useful for logging, scheduling, time calculations, and formatting dates for display or storage.

---

Functions

time.now(): integer

Returns the current Unix timestamp (seconds since January 1, 1970).

• Parameters: None
• Returns:
  • (integer) the current timestamp in seconds.

Example:

local time = require("std:time")

local now = time.now()
print("Current timestamp:", now)

---

time.format(format_string: string, timestamp: integer): string

Formats a given timestamp into a human-readable string according to the specified format. Format strings follow a strftime-style syntax.

• Parameters:

  • format_string (string): formatting pattern (like %Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S).
  • timestamp (integer): Unix timestamp to format.

• Returns:

  • (string) formatted date and time.

Example:

local time = require("std:time")

local now = time.now()
local formatted = time.format("%A, %B %d, %Y", now)
print(formatted)
-- "Saturday, August 10, 2025"

---

time.sleep(milliseconds: integer)

Pauses execution for a specified amount of time.

• Parameters:

  • milliseconds (integer): duration to sleep in milliseconds.

• Returns: None

Example:

local time = require("std:time")

print("Sleeping for 1 second...")
time.sleep(1000)
print("Awake!")

---

Notes

• All timestamps are in seconds since Unix epoch.
• The format function supports standard strftime tokens.
• sleep may not be perfectly precise for very short durations due to system scheduling.

Supported Format Tokens

Token	Example Value	Meaning
%Y	2006	Full year (4 digits)
%y	06	Year (2 digits)
%m	01	Month (01-12)
%d	02	Day of month (01-31)
%H	15	Hour (24-hour)
%I	03	Hour (12-hour)
%M	04	Minute
%S	05	Second
%p	PM	AM/PM
%z	-0500	Timezone offset
%Z	Local	Timezone abbreviation
%A	Sunday	Full weekday name (manual)
%a	Sun	Abbreviated weekday name
%B	August	Full month name
%b	Aug	Abbreviated month name
%F	2006-01-02	Equivalent to %Y-%m-%d
%T	15:04:05	Equivalent to %H:%M:%S
%r	03:04:05 PM	12-hour clock time
%R	15:04	24-hour clock time without seconds

---