<doc>
  <legacy_id>1500</legacy_id>
  <name>dateFormat</name>
  <type>function</type>
  <syntax>
    <example>the [ long | abbr[rev[iated]] | short ] [ english | system ] dateFormat</example>
  </syntax>
  <library></library>
  <objects>
  </objects>
  <synonyms>
  </synonyms>
  <classification>
    <category>Math, Logic, &amp; Dates</category>
  </classification>
  <references>
    <keyword tag="abbreviated">abbreviated Keyword</keyword>
    <command tag="convert">convert Command</command>
    <function tag="date">date Function</function>
    <keyword tag="english">english Keyword</keyword>
    <keyword tag="long">long Keyword</keyword>
    <function tag="monthNames">monthNames Function</function>
    <keyword tag="short">short Keyword</keyword>
    <keyword tag="system">system Keyword</keyword>
    <property tag="useSystemDate">useSystemDate Property</property>
    <function tag="weekdayNames">weekdayNames Function</function>
  </references>
  <history>
    <introduced version="1.1">Added.</introduced>
  </history>
  <platforms>
    <mac/>
    <windows/>
    <linux/>
    <ios/>
    <android/>
  </platforms>
  <classes>
    <desktop/>
    <server/>
    <web/>
    <mobile/>
  </classes>
  <security>
  </security>
  <summary><glossary tag="return">Returns</glossary> a <keyword tag="string">string</keyword> describing a given date format using the syntax described below.</summary>
  <examples>
    <example>put the long dateFormat into stringToParse</example>
  </examples>
  <description>
    <p>Use the <b>dateFormat</b> <control_st tag="function">function</control_st> to obtain the general format of the date for further processing.</p><p/><p><b>Value:</b></p><p>The <b>dateFormat</b> <control_st tag="function">function</control_st> <glossary tag="return">returns</glossary> a string.</p><p/><p><b>Comments:</b></p><p>The <b>dateFormat</b> <control_st tag="function">function</control_st> returns a <keyword tag="string">string</keyword> containing one or more formatting incantations, each of which describes a part of the requested date <function tag="format">format</function>. The possible incantations are as follows:</p><p/><p>%a</p><p><b>Abbreviated weekday name:</b>  the abbreviated day of the week, as reported by the <function tag="weekdayNames">weekdayNames</function> function</p><p/><p>%A</p><p><b>Full weekday name:</b>  the full day of the week, as reported by the weekdayNames function</p><p/><p>%b</p><p><b>Abbreviated month name:</b>  the abbreviated month name, as reported by the monthNames function</p><p/><p>%B</p><p><b>Full month name:</b>  the full month name, as reported by the monthNames function</p><p/><p>%d</p><p><b>Day of the month:</b>  the day of the month as a number</p><p/><p>%m</p><p><b>Month number:</b>  the number of the month</p><p/><p>%y</p><p><b>Two-digit year:</b>  the year as a two-digit number</p><p/><p>%Y</p><p><b>Four-digit year:</b>  This incantation indicates the year as a four-digit number (including the century)</p><p/><p>%w</p><p><b>Day of the week: </b> A number between 1 and 7</p><p/><p><b>Note:</b> The <b>dateFormat</b> differs from other date/time functionality in that the default is to return information relative to the system locale. i.e. the dateFormat is equivalent to the system dateFormat</p>
  </description>
</doc>