Localizable date time spinner
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Company
InventorJohn W. Yunker
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A localizable date/time spinner mechanism and method allows a user to select a field in a date or time, select a spin direction, and spin through the selected date/time field in accordance with the enumerated field type. The date/time and selected fields are displayed according to the customs and conventions of the user's default locale as defined in the user's operating environment. This allows the date/time spinner run on any platform and display the date/time in the format of the user's locale.
Claims9
A locale-independent method for spinning a date and or time (date/time) on a computer display screen of a computer running in a user's locale, said date/time comprising a plurality of fields, said method comprising the steps of:
- obtaining a date/time format of said user's locale;
- generating a format pattern from said date/time format, said format pattern comprising a plurality of field specifications describing a length and format of each of said plurality of fields of said date/time;
- formatting said date/time into a formatted date/time, said formatted date/time comprising a plurality of formatted fields, each of said plurality of formatted fields comprising a corresponding one of said fields of said date/time formatted into said length and said format specified by said corresponding field specification in said format pattern;
- displaying said formatted date/time on said computer display screen;
- detecting a currently selected field, said currently selected field being a selected one of said plurality of formatted fields of said formatted date/time;
- detecting a spin direction, said spin direction indicating whether to increment or decrement said selected field;
- determining a next field value, said next field value being a next enumerated value of said selected field in a direction corresponding to said spin direction;
- formatting said next enumerated value into said length and said format selected field;
- and
- displaying said formatted next enumerated value in place of said selected field in said displayed formatted date/time on said computer display screen.
A localizable date and or time (date/time) formatting mechanism, comprising:
- date/time format detection means which detects a format specified by a user's locale;
- a date/time display panel displaying a date/time in said format specified by said user's locale, said date/time comprising a plurality of fields and said date/time display panel comprising a plurality of independently selectable fields that each correspond to and display a different one of said plurality of fields of said date/time in said format specified by said user's locale;
- field selection detection means for detecting a selected field, said selected field comprising one of said independently selectable fields;
- direction selection means, said direction selection means detecting a spin direction indicating whether to advance said displayed date forward or decrement said displayed date in reverse;
- spinning means responsive to said field selection detection means and said direction selection means that calculates a next enumerated value of said selected field, formats said next enumerated value in said format specified by said user's locale, and displays said formatted next enumerated value in said selected field.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.