[Zope] - Convert database date to Zope date

[skip@calendar.com (Skip Montanaro)]

    Michael> How does one convert a database date value to a Zope date
    Michael> value. I'm trying to use a date value retrieved from a query of
    Michael> a MySQL database in the var command with the date formatting
    Michael> options. If I just use the raw value from the query, I get an
    Michael> error. Is there a way to convert this to a Zope date data type?

I don't know sure what sort of value MySQL returns, but in my application I
store timestamps as floating point values (such as returned by
time.time()).  I was able to access them from DTML by converting them to
DateTime objects, e.g.:

    e.start = DateTime.DateTime(e.start)

then access it as appropriate from DTML:

    <!--#var start fmt=aDay--> ...

I was a bit disappointed to discover there is no exposure of strftime
functionality through DateTime objects.  The static date formats provided
don't meet my needs.  To generate a date in the format I want I wind up
making at least four #var references per date.  If there's no strong
objection, I will add an ftime (or strftime) method to DateTime objects that
can at least be called through a var tag with an expr attribute.

Skip Montanaro	   | Mojam: "Uniting the World of Music" http://www.mojam.com/
skip@calendar.com  | Musi-Cal: http://concerts.calendar.com/
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