Get Time Between Dates

Get Time Between Dates

Prerequisites

Before using this node, ensure you have:

• Basic understanding of workflow creation in Agentic WorkFlow
• Appropriate browser permissions configured (if applicable)
• Required dependencies installed and configured

Overview

The Get Time Between Dates node provides comprehensive date difference calculations for determining time spans between two dates. This node handles complex duration calculations including business days, timezone considerations, and multiple output units, making it essential for analytics, scheduling, and time-based business logic.

Purpose and Functionality

Get Time Between Dates serves as a powerful duration calculation tool that allows you to:

• Calculate precise time differences in multiple units (years, months, days, hours, etc.)
• Handle business day calculations excluding weekends and holidays
• Account for timezone differences between dates
• Provide multiple simultaneous unit calculations
• Support batch processing of multiple date pairs

Key Features

• Multi-Unit Calculations: Get differences in years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds
• Business Day Support: Calculate working days excluding weekends and custom holidays
• Timezone Handling: Account for timezone differences in calculations
• Precision Control: Choose calculation precision and rounding methods
• Batch Processing: Calculate differences for multiple date pairs simultaneously

Primary Use Cases

• Duration Analysis: Calculate project durations, age calculations, and time spans
• Business Metrics: Measure response times, processing durations, and SLA compliance
• Scheduling Logic: Determine time remaining until deadlines or events
• Analytics: Generate time-based insights and duration statistics

Parameters & Configuration

Required Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Example
start_date	string/date	Starting date for calculation	"2024-01-15T10:00:00Z"
end_date	string/date	Ending date for calculation	"2024-02-15T16:30:00Z"

Optional Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description	Example
units	array	["days"]	Units to calculate: “years”, “months”, “weeks”, “days”, “hours”, “minutes”, “seconds”	["days", "hours"]
business_days_only	boolean	false	Calculate business days excluding weekends	true
holidays	array	[]	List of holiday dates to exclude	["2024-12-25", "2024-01-01"]
precision	number	2	Decimal places for fractional results	3
absolute_value	boolean	true	Return absolute difference (positive result)	false

Advanced Configuration

{
  "start_date": "2024-01-15T10:00:00Z",
  "end_date": "2024-02-15T16:30:00Z",
  "units": ["days", "hours", "minutes", "business_days"],
  "business_days_only": false,
  "holidays": [
    "2024-01-15",
    "2024-02-19"
  ],
  "precision": 2,
  "absolute_value": true,
  "timezone_handling": {
    "start_timezone": "UTC",
    "end_timezone": "America/New_York",
    "calculation_timezone": "UTC"
  },
  "weekend_days": [0, 6],
  "rounding_method": "round"
}

Input/Output Specifications

Input Data Structure

{
  "date_pair": {
    "start": "2024-01-15T10:00:00Z",
    "end": "2024-02-15T16:30:00Z"
  },
  "calculation_config": {
    "units": ["days", "hours", "business_days"],
    "business_days_only": false,
    "holidays": ["2024-01-15"]
  }
}

Output Data Structure

{
  "start_date": "2024-01-15T10:00:00Z",
  "end_date": "2024-02-15T16:30:00Z",
  "time_difference": {
    "days": 31.27,
    "hours": 750.5,
    "minutes": 45030,
    "business_days": 22,
    "total_milliseconds": 2701800000
  },
  "calculation_details": {
    "direction": "forward",
    "weekends_excluded": 8,
    "holidays_excluded": 1,
    "timezone_adjustments": 0,
    "precision_used": 2
  },
  "metadata": {
    "calculation_time": 18,
    "units_calculated": 4,
    "business_day_calculation": true
  }
}

Practical Examples

Example 1: Basic Duration Calculation

Scenario: Calculate project duration in days and hours

Configuration:

{
  "start_date": "2024-01-15T09:00:00Z",
  "end_date": "2024-01-20T17:00:00Z",
  "units": ["days", "hours"],
  "precision": 1
}

Input Data:

{
  "project_start": "2024-01-15T09:00:00Z",
  "project_end": "2024-01-20T17:00:00Z"
}

Expected Output:

{
  "start_date": "2024-01-15T09:00:00Z",
  "end_date": "2024-01-20T17:00:00Z",
  "time_difference": {
    "days": 5.3,
    "hours": 128.0
  },
  "calculation_details": {
    "direction": "forward",
    "precision_used": 1
  }
}

Example 2: Business Day Calculation with Holidays

Scenario: Calculate working days between project milestones excluding holidays

Configuration:

{
  "start_date": "2024-01-15T09:00:00",
  "end_date": "2024-01-31T17:00:00",
  "units": ["business_days", "days"],
  "business_days_only": true,
  "holidays": ["2024-01-15", "2024-01-29"]
}

Workflow Integration:

Project Data → Get Time Between Dates → SLA Checker
     ↓                ↓                    ↓
  milestones     working_days         compliance_status

Complete Example:

{
  "input": {
    "project_milestones": [
      {"name": "Phase 1", "start": "2024-01-15T09:00:00", "end": "2024-01-22T17:00:00"},
      {"name": "Phase 2", "start": "2024-01-22T09:00:00", "end": "2024-01-31T17:00:00"}
    ],
    "company_holidays": ["2024-01-15", "2024-01-29"]
  },
  "processing": {
    "calculate_business_days": true,
    "exclude_holidays": true
  },
  "output": {
    "phase_durations": [
      {
        "name": "Phase 1",
        "business_days": 5,
        "calendar_days": 7,
        "holidays_excluded": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "Phase 2",
        "business_days": 6,
        "calendar_days": 9,
        "holidays_excluded": 1
      }
    ]
  }
}

Examples

Basic Usage

This example demonstrates the fundamental usage of the GetTimeBetweenDates node in a typical workflow scenario.

Configuration:

{
  "date": "example_value",
  "format": true
}

Input Data:

{
  "data": "sample input data"
}

Expected Output:

{
  "result": "processed output data"
}

Advanced Usage

This example shows more complex configuration options and integration patterns.

Configuration:

{
  "parameter1": "advanced_value",
  "parameter2": false,
  "advancedOptions": {
    "option1": "value1",
    "option2": 100
  }
}

Integration Example

Example showing how this node integrates with other workflow nodes:

1. Previous Node → GetTimeBetweenDates → Next Node
2. Data flows through the workflow with appropriate transformations
3. Error handling and validation at each step

Integration Patterns

Common Node Combinations

Pattern 1: SLA Monitoring

• Nodes: Data Source → Get Time Between Dates → Filter → Alert System
• Use Case: Monitor service level agreement compliance
• Configuration Tips: Use business_days_only for SLAs that exclude weekends

Pattern 2: Analytics Dashboard

• Nodes: Database Query → Get Time Between Dates → Statistics → Chart Generation
• Use Case: Generate duration analytics and performance metrics
• Data Flow: Raw data → duration calculations → statistical analysis → visualizations

Best Practices

• Performance: Use batch processing for multiple date pairs when possible
• Error Handling: Validate date formats and handle null dates gracefully
• Data Validation: Ensure end dates are after start dates for meaningful results
• Resource Management: Cache holiday lists to avoid repeated processing

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: Negative Duration Results

• Symptoms: Unexpected negative values in duration calculations
• Causes: End date is before start date or absolute_value is set to false
• Solutions:
  1. Verify date order (start should be before end)
  2. Set absolute_value to true for always-positive results
  3. Check for timezone-related date shifts
• Prevention: Validate date order before calculation

Issue: Business Day Calculation Errors

• Symptoms: Incorrect business day counts or unexpected exclusions
• Causes: Incorrect weekend_days configuration or overlapping holidays
• Solutions:
  1. Verify weekend_days array (0=Sunday, 6=Saturday)
  2. Check holiday date formats (YYYY-MM-DD)
  3. Ensure holidays don’t overlap with configured weekend days
• Prevention: Use standardized holiday formats and test with known date ranges

Performance Issues

• Slow Calculations: Reduce the number of units calculated or use simpler calculations
• Memory Usage: Process large date arrays in batches
• Holiday Processing: Optimize holiday lists by removing past dates

Limitations & Constraints

Technical Limitations

• Date Range: Supports dates from 1900-01-01 to 2100-12-31
• Precision: Maximum precision of 6 decimal places

Calculation Limitations

• Month Calculations: Month differences may vary due to different month lengths
• Timezone Complexity: Complex timezone transitions may affect accuracy
• Leap Year Handling: Leap year calculations follow standard calendar rules

Data Limitations

• Input Size: Maximum 1000 date pairs per batch operation
• Holiday List: Maximum 500 holidays per calculation
• Processing Time: Complex calculations timeout after 60 seconds

Key Terminology

Field Transformation: Process of modifying data field names, types, or values

Type Conversion: Converting data from one type to another (string, number, boolean, etc.)

Data Validation: Process of ensuring data meets specified criteria and constraints

Schema: Structure definition that describes the format and constraints of data

Serialization: Process of converting data structures into a format for storage or transmission

Search & Discovery

Keywords

• data processing
• field manipulation
• type conversion
• data validation
• formatting
• transformation

Common Search Terms

• “transform”
• “convert”
• “format”
• “edit”
• “modify”
• “process”
• “validate”
• “clean”
• “restructure”

Primary Use Cases

• data cleaning
• format conversion
• field manipulation
• data validation
• report generation
• data processing

Learning Path

Skill Level: Intermediate

Enhanced Cross-References

Workflow Patterns

• Data Processing Patterns
• Content Manipulation Patterns
• Data Validation Workflows

Related Tutorials

• Data Processing Fundamentals
• Advanced Data Manipulation

Practical Examples

• Real-World Use Cases
• Integration Examples
• Best Practice Examples

Related Nodes

Similar Functionality

• AddToADate: Use when you need different approach to similar functionality
• SubstractFromDate: Use when you need different approach to similar functionality

Complementary Nodes

• GetCurrentDate: Works well together in workflows
• EditFields: Works well together in workflows
• Filter: Works well together in workflows

Common Workflow Patterns

• EditFields → GetTimeBetweenDates → Filter: Common integration pattern
• GetCurrentDate → GetTimeBetweenDates → EditFields: Common integration pattern

See Also

• Data Processing Patterns
• Data Transformation Guide
• Data Mapping Expressions
• Field Validation Examples

Decision Guides:

• Data Transformation Decision Guide

General Resources:

• Workflow Patterns
• Integration Examples
• Node Types Overview

Additional Resources

• Duration Calculation Patterns Tutorial
• Business Day Handling Guide
• SLA Monitoring Examples