PLCTIME(3plplot)

💖 PLCTIME(3plplot) — the PLplot API, bestie edition 💖

okay so real talk, this is a page from the PLplot API manual and it's about plctime. sit down, grab a boba, we're gonna make continuous time out of broken-down time and it's gonna be iconic ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

plctime — calculate continuous time from broken-down time for the current stream. that's the whole vibe. that's the assignment. 🎀

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

plctime(year, month, day, hour, min, sec, ctime)

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

so basically, plctime calculates continuous time, ctime, from broken-down time for the current stream. the broken-down time is specified by these parameters: year, month, day, hour, min, and sec. it's literally the inverse of plbtime(3plplot) — they're giving opposites-attract energy 🫶

the PLplot definition of broken-down time is a calendar time that completely ignores all time zone offsets, meaning it is the user's responsibility to apply those offsets (if so desired) before using the PLplot time API. no cap, no automatic timezone math, that's on you bestie 🙈

by default, broken-down time is defined using the proleptic Gregorian calendar without the insertion of leap seconds, and continuous time is defined as the number of seconds since the Unix epoch of 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z. iconic default, honestly. but other definitions of broken-down and continuous time are possible — see plconfigtime(3plplot), which specifies that transformation for the current stream. so you can change the vibe, you just gotta say so 👑

Redacted form: General: plctime(year, month, day, hour, min, sec, ctime)

this function is used in example 29 — go look at it, it ate 💅

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• year (PLINT(3plplot), input) — the input year.
• month (PLINT(3plplot), input) — the input month, in range from 0 (January) to 11 (December). yes 0-indexed, yes that's just how it is 🌈
• day (PLINT(3plplot), input) — the input day, in range from 1 to 31.
• hour (PLINT(3plplot), input) — the input hour, in range from 0 to 23.
• min (PLINT(3plplot), input) — the input minute, in range from 0 to 59.
• sec (PLFLT(3plplot), input) — the input second, in range from 0. to 60. — notice she's a PLFLT, not an int, so fractional seconds are very much welcome 🍓
• ctime (PLFLT_NC_SCALAR(3plplot), output) — the returned value of the continuous time calculated from the broken-down time specified by the previous parameters. that's your result, your main character output, your ✨moment✨

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👑 AUTHORS 👑

many developers (who are credited at http://plplot.sourceforge.net/credits.php) have contributed to PLplot over its long history. legends, every single one 🫶💜

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🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

• PLplot documentation at http://plplot.sourceforge.net/documentation.php — go read it, it's giving resourceful 💅

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and that's the whole page bestie!! this was the PLplot API PLCTIME(3plplot) situation, sourced and dated August, 2026 — mwah, drink water, apply your timezone offsets manually, and stan plbtime(3plplot)'s inverse 💖✨🎀