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SECONDS

(Read-only) The SECONDS option holds the number of seconds since January 1, 1970. As an aid to enhancing a program's speed, SECONDS can be used to determine how many real seconds elapse while the program is running.

Data type

INTEGER

Syntax

SECONDS

Notes

Related Statements

For information about holding the number of seconds in decimal form, see the DSECONDS command. For information about programs, see the PROGRAM command.

Examples

Example 21-23 Timing a Program

The following program puts the value of SECONDS at the start of the program in a variable called t1, then displays the difference between t1 and the value of SECONDS at the end of the program.

DEFINE prodsummary PROGRAM
PROGRAM
VARIABLE t1 INTEGER
t1 = seconds
LIMIT product TO ALL
BLANK
FOR product
DO
  ROW WIDTH 16 name.product ACROSS month Jun96: DECIMAL 0 LSET -
   '$'WIDTH 18 <RSET ' (actual)' sales RSET ' (plan)' sales.plan>
DOEND
BLANK
ROW WIDTH 35 LSET 'the program took ' RSET ' SECOND(s).' -
 (SECONDS-t1)
END

Running this program produces the following results.

3-Person Tents     $95,121 (actual)     $80,138 (plan)
Aluminum Canoes   $157,762 (actual)    $132,931 (plan)
Tennis Racquets    $97,174 (actual)     $84,758 (plan)
Warm-up Suits      $79,630 (actual)     $73,569 (plan)
Running Shoes     $153,688 (actual)    $109,219 (plan)
 
      The program took 2 second(s).