set metric_time

Synopsis

/set metric_time [on|off|toggle]

Default: off. With no argument, set displays the current value.

Description

Enables metric time for EPIC's clock display and its clock-driven hooks. Metric time uses the day as its unit: one milliday is one thousandth of a day, or 86.4 seconds. Time is measured from midnight UTC, with no local time-zone adjustment. For example, UTC noon is milliday 500.

With this setting on, the status clock and $Z show the integer milliday, from 0 through 999. The status clock does not pad the number with leading zeros. clock_format and clock_24hour apply to the standard clock, not this metric display. Turning metric time off restores standard clock formatting.

Changing this setting refreshes the clock immediately. Subsequent automatic refreshes still depend on clock and clock_interval; the interval remains measured in seconds. Refreshes are not automatically scheduled at milliday boundaries, so the display can skip values if updates are infrequent.

Hook arguments

On a refresh that observes a different integer milliday from the previous metric refresh, EPIC runs on timer with a three-digit milliday such as 005 or 500. It then runs on idle in the primary server context.

The metric on idle argument has a limitation: the implementation subtracts the current integer milliday from the integer milliday of the last input timestamp. It therefore normally produces a negative value as inactivity increases, and wraps incorrectly across UTC midnight. Do not interpret it as a reliable positive elapsed-idle duration. This differs from the standard clock's elapsed whole-minute argument.

Metric time does not change all internal time processing. timer, pause, and sleep retain their normal time units; this setting does not convert their intervals to millidays.

Example

/set metric_time on
/set clock on

Return to the standard clock with /set metric_time off.

Source references

• source/vars.c and include/config.h: boolean registration, clock-reset callback, and off default.
• source/clock.c: reset_metric_clock, clock-format selection, hook arguments, and second-based system timer.
• source/ircaux.c: timespec_to_metric and get_metric_time compute millidays within the UTC day.
• source/status.c: status clock uses the cached clock text.