Installing parsedatetime

python setup.py install

Python 2.6 or greater is required for parsedatetime version 1.0 or greater.

Running Unit Tests

In the source tree do the following:

python run_tests.py parsedatetime

Using parsedatetime

The simple example of how to use parsedatetime is:

import parsedatetime.parsedatetime as pdt

cal = pdt.Calendar()

cal.parse("tomorrow")

More detailed examples can be found in the examples directory.

Documentation

The generated documentation is included by default in the docs directory and can also be viewed online at

http://code-bear.com/code/parsedatetime/docs/index.html

The docs can be generated using either of the two commands:

python setup.py doc
epydoc --html --config epydoc.conf

Notes

The Calendar class has a member property named ptc which is created during the class init method to be an instance of parsedatetime_consts.CalendarConstants().

History

The code in parsedatetime has been implemented over the years in many different languages (C, Clipper, Delphi) as part of different custom/proprietary systems I've worked on. Sadly the previous code is not "open" in any sense of that word.

When I went to work for Open Source Applications Foundation and realized that the Chandler project could benefit from my experience with parsing of date/time text I decided to start from scratch and implement the code using Python and make it truly open.

After working on the initial concept and creating something that could be shown to the Chandler folks the code has now evolved to it's current state with the help the Chandler folks, most especially Darshana.