How do you subtract one time from another?

[rcsingleton]

I want to subtract one time from another and display the difference in minutes.

Time1 = 14:30:00

Time2 = 13:00:00

TimeLeft = (Time1 - Time2);

TimeLeft = 90

What is the syntax for that? I'm not sure how to initialize the DateTime structure for a specific time.

Thanks,
R.C.

[NinjaTrader_Matthew]

Hello,

"TimeLeft" would be a TimeSpan structure:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.timespan.aspx

			DateTime Time1 = new DateTime(143000);

			DateTime Time2 = new DateTime(130000);

			TimeSpan TimeLeft = (Time1 - Time2);

			Print(TimeLeft.ToString());

[CodeButterfly]

Couple notes:
1. Initializing a DateTime like DateTime Time1 = new DateTime(143000); is actually initializing the datetime with ticks which equal 100 nanoseconds. There are 10 million ticks per second, so this is not the same as 14:30:00.
2. timeLeft.ToString() will not display the difference in minutes but will instead give the time in hh:mm:ss format. You will want to use timeLeft.TotalMinutes.ToString().


Also you can optionally use TimeSpan objects instead of DateTime here:

TimeSpan time1 = new TimeSpan(14, 30, 0);
TimeSpan time2 = new TimeSpan(13, 0, 0);
 
TimeSpan timeLeft = time2 - time1;
Print(Convert.ToString(timeLeft.TotalMinutes));

[rcsingleton]

Thanks for the responses. This is what I'm seeing

DateTime _090000 = new DateTime(090000);

TimeSpan TimeLeft = Time[0] - _090000;

Print(Time[0] + " " + TimeLeft.TotalMinutes.ToString() + "Minutes Left Until Open Outcry");

This is what I'm getting ..

9/5/2012 8:41:04 AM 1058040521.06652 Minutes Left Until Open Outcry

I expected to see 19 Minutes. Do you see the syntax error?

Thanks!

[koganam]

Thanks for the responses. This is what I'm seeing

DateTime _090000 = new DateTime(090000);

TimeSpan TimeLeft = Time[0] - _090000;

Print(Time[0] + " " + TimeLeft.TotalMinutes.ToString() + "Minutes Left Until Open Outcry");

This is what I'm getting ..

9/5/2012 8:41:04 AM 1058040521.06652 Minutes Left Until Open Outcry

I expected to see 19 Minutes. Do you see the syntax error?

Thanks!

DateTime(090000) is not the same as DateTime(09,00,00).

CodeButterfly, already in this thread, explained the difference and why you would get incorrect results if you use your syntax.

[NinjaTrader_Matthew]

If you're comparing to Time[0], which is a DateTmie structure, you will need to fullfill all the required overloads.

DateTime _090000 = new DateTime(Time[0].Year, Time[0].Month, Time[0].Day, 9, 0, 0);

This will give you the current date, and then allow you to specify 9:00AM

Then you can subtract your 09:00AM DateTime from the Time of the current bar:

TimeSpan TimeLeft = _090000 - Time[0];

Print(Time[0] + " " + TimeLeft.TotalMinutes.ToString() + "Minutes Left Until Open Outcry");

[rcsingleton]

Compile Error

Thanks Matthew for the response.

I'm getting the following compiler error on your syntax:

DateTime _090000 = new DateTime(Time[0].Year, Time[0].Month, Time[0].Day, 9, 0, 0);

Error Message:

An object reference is required for the non-static field, method, or property 'Ninja.Trader.Indicator.IndicatorBase.Time.get'

Any ideas?

[rcsingleton]

I got it working..

DateTime _090000 = new DateTime(Time[0].Year, Time[0].Month, Time[0].Day, 9, 0, 0);
DateTime _timeNow = new DateTime(Time[0].Year, Time[0].Month, Time[0].Day, Time[0].Hour, Time[0].Minute, Time[0].Second);

System.TimeSpan _diff = _timeNow.Subtract(_090000);
Print(Time[0] + " " + _diff.ToString() + " Minutes Left Until Open Outcry");

Thanks to everyone!

[CodeButterfly]

On a style note, usually you want to reserve underscore prefixed variables for member variables (fields) not local variables (e.g. variables you define inside your OnBarUpdate() method).

The way I would modify this would be (untested):

DateTime mar****penTime = new DateTime(Time[0].Year, Time[0].Month, Time[0].Day, 9, 0, 0);
TimeSpan timeRemainingUntilOpenOutcry = mar****penTime - Time[0];
Print(Time[0] + " " + timeRemainingUntilOpenOutcry.TotalMinutes.ToString () + " Minute(s) Left Until Open Outcry");