Convert date type 6 to a number

A type 6 date is stored as CHR(CC) + CHR(YY) + MMDD. This script reads one from a link, turns it into a YYYYMMDD string and converts it to a number with DTN, so you can do date arithmetic or store it as an SQL-style date.

! CHANGES FROM DATE TYPE 6 TO A NUMBER

LN   BTLDATE6
MAINLINE
     OPEN LINK BTLDATE6
     READ BTLDATE6 USING KEY "11111"  !read link using pre-defined key
     LET A$ = DATE                    !let A$ equal the type 6 date
                                      !which is stored as...
                                      !CHR(CC) + CHR(YY) + MMDD
     LET B$=STR(ASC(A$(1,1)))         !let B$ equal string of CHR(CC)
     LET C$=STR(ASC(A$(2,1)))         !let C$ equal string of CHR(YY)
     LET D$=A$(3,4)                   !let D$ equal string of MMDD

     IF LEN(C$)=1                     !test to see if C$ is a one digit
                                      !number.
     THEN
        LET E$=B$+"0"+C$+D$           !if C$ is one digit, place the
                                      !zero before it and add the string
                                      !of each number
     ELSE
        LET E$=B$+C$+D$               !if C$ is not one digit, add the
                                      !string of each number
     ENDIF

     LET N = DTN(E$,"YYYYMMDD")       !gets the number from the string
                                      !using the mask

     LET N$ = NTD(N,"YYYYMMDD")       !gets the date from the number
                                      !using the mask
     PRINT N, N$
     INPUT *

Notes

The example reads link BTLDATE6 with the key “11111” and uses its DATE data name. Replace them with your own link, key and date field.