Contents |
Effect
Displays the date and optionally modifies it.
On MSX2 and higher machines, the time is read from the SRAM of the Real Time Clock (RTC) and will be saved on this SRAM when modified.
Syntax
DATE <Date>
Parameter
<Date> is made of three elements: the day (DD), the month (MM) and the year (YY). It can be displayed in 3 different formats, the used format depends from the country for which the computer was released.
The following separators are accepted between the elements composing the date:
- under MSX-DOS 1: - . /
- under MSX-DOS 2 / Nextor: space tab , - . / :
| Date format | Countries |
|---|---|
| DD/MM/YY | Brazil, Egypt, France, Germany and Kuwait |
| MM/DD/YY | Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Soviet countries, USA and Spain |
| YY/MM/DD | Japan and Korea |
Under MSX-DOS 2 / Nextor:
- the year can be specified with 2 or 4 digits; in case of 2 digits, the default century is 19 if the year is greater than 80 and 20 if the year is smaller than 81
- the date format can be changed with the SET DATE command
- one or two elements composing the date may be substituted by '-' to be omitted, the missing parts will remain at their current setting
If you don't specify the date after the DATE command, the system will display the current date:
- it is always always Sunday 1-01-1984 by default on MSX1
- the day of the week is always abbreviated, except if you use COMMAND2.COM 2.40 and higher
It will then invite you to enter a new date. The date format is indicated under MSX-DOS 2 / Nextor. If you then simply press RETURN, the current date will not be modified.
In case of an invalid entry, an error message will be displayed and you will be again invited to enter a new date. The date format is indicated under MSX-DOS 2 / Nextor.
Examples
(all in Japanese format)
Under MSX-DOS 1
A>DATECurrent date is Wed 86-06-18 Enter new date:
A>DATE 17.09.21Under MSX-DOS 2 / Nextor
A>DATECurrent date is Wed 1986-06-18 Enter new date (yy-mm-dd):
A>DATE 17-09-21
A>DATE - - 25
Utility on emulators
Except for testing, it's not really useful to modify the current date with DATE on an emulator, because it will automatically synchronize the clock of the emulated MSX2 (and higher) machine to the clock of the host system (Windows, Mac OS, Linux, ...) when making some actions (which vary according to the emulator used).
Related to
DATE (Environment Variable), SET, TIME
Compatibility
MSX-DOS 1 with COMMAND.COM, MSX-DOS 2 / Nextor with COMMAND2.COM v2.20 and higher