time_t time ( time_t * timer );

<ctime>

Get current time

Get the current calendar time as a time_t object.

The function returns this value, and if the argument is not a null pointer, the value is also set to the object pointed by timer.

Parameters

timer

Pointer to an object of type time_t, where the time value is stored.
Alternativelly, this parameter can be a null pointer, in which case the parameter is not used, but the a time_t object is still returned by the function.

Return Value

If the argument is not a null pointer, the return value is the same as the one stored in the location pointed by the argument.

If the function could not retrieve the calendar time, it returns a -1 value.

Example

/* time example */
#include <stdio.h>
#include <time.h>

int main ()
{
  time_t seconds;

  seconds = time (NULL);
  printf ("%ld hours since January 1, 1970", seconds/3600);
  
  return 0;
}

Possible output:

266344 hours since January 1, 1970

See also