Timestamp Unix v/s Windows

[gawdknows]

All,

can anyone tell the principal difference between a Unix timestamp when compared to a Windows timestamp ?

I've heard that there is a difference in system timestamp formats on Unix compared to windows . If true can I have
the details.

TIA

 

[bi]

one difference:

On Unix, if the file is older than (I think) 6 months, you only get the date and year the file was last changed, not the time and date. Windows gives you the date and time, no matter how old the file.

 

[PHV]

bi, this is true for the ls command. If you do a stat call in C you get the full timestamp, ie the number of seconds since the Epoch (01/01/1970).

 

[gawdknows]

oK Thx.

the epoch landmark would be the princple difference then...since windows does not have this.

Thx. again and This one's a close.

 

[newmangj]

Sorry but you'll find that both Windows and Unix have the concept of an epoch (although in Windows case it is "artificial". In both systems the C-based time() call will return the number of seconds since 1/1/1970.

From memory some versions of DOS (the PC version not the IBM mainframe version) used to base the epoch on 1/1/1980 but I can't remember when this changed (such are the perils of old age)

Cheers - Gavin

 

[gawdknows]

thx for the prelude.
Basically I was gunning for the seconds.micro seconds[hh:mm:ss:nn etc] etc format, but I understand both are nearby the same except (or in some cases ditto) for the landmark each one chooses to put the timestamp on. and the C based time call is prevelant in both the OS.
Thx