MKTIME(3P) POSIX Programmer's Manual MKTIME(3P)
PROLOG
This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. The Linux implementation of this interface may differ (consult the correspond-
ing Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may not be implemented on Linux.
NAME
mktime -- convert broken-down time into time since the Epoch
SYNOPSIS
#include <time.h>
time_t mktime(struct tm *timeptr);
DESCRIPTION
The functionality described on this reference page is aligned with the ISO C standard. Any conflict between the requirements described here
and the ISO C standard is unintentional. This volume of POSIX.1-2008 defers to the ISO C standard.
The mktime() function shall convert the broken-down time, expressed as local time, in the structure pointed to by timeptr, into a time
since the Epoch value with the same encoding as that of the values returned by time(). The original values of the tm_wday and tm_yday com-
ponents of the structure are ignored, and the original values of the other components are not restricted to the ranges described in
<time.h>.
A positive or 0 value for tm_isdst shall cause mktime() to presume initially that Daylight Savings Time, respectively, is or is not in
effect for the specified time. A negative value for tm_isdst shall cause mktime() to attempt to determine whether Daylight Savings Time is
in effect for the specified time.
Local timezone information shall be set as though mktime() called tzset().
The relationship between the tm structure (defined in the <time.h> header) and the time in seconds since the Epoch is that the result shall
be as specified in the expression given in the definition of seconds since the Epoch (see the Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1-2008, Sec-
tion 4.15, Seconds Since the Epoch) corrected for timezone and any seasonal time adjustments, where the names in the structure and in the
expression correspond.
Upon successful completion, the values of the tm_wday and tm_yday components of the structure shall be set appropriately, and the other
components are set to represent the specified time since the Epoch, but with their values forced to the ranges indicated in the <time.h>
entry; the final value of tm_mday shall not be set until tm_mon and tm_year are determined.
RETURN VALUE
The mktime() function shall return the specified time since the Epoch encoded as a value of type time_t. If the time since the Epoch can-
not be represented, the function shall return the value (time_t)-1 and set errno to indicate the error.
ERRORS
The mktime() function shall fail if:
EOVERFLOW
The result cannot be represented.
The following sections are informative.
EXAMPLES
What day of the week is July 4, 2001?
#include <stdio.h>
#include <time.h>
struct tm time_str;
char daybuf[20];
int main(void)
{
time_str.tm_year = 2001 -- 1900;
time_str.tm_mon = 7 -- 1;
time_str.tm_mday = 4;
time_str.tm_hour = 0;
time_str.tm_min = 0;
time_str.tm_sec = 1;
time_str.tm_isdst = -1;
if (mktime(&time_str) == -1)
(void)puts("-unknown-");
else {
(void)strftime(daybuf, sizeof(daybuf), "%A", &time_str);
(void)puts(daybuf);
}
return 0;
}
APPLICATION USAGE
None.
RATIONALE
None.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
None.
SEE ALSO
asctime(), clock(), ctime(), difftime(), gmtime(), localtime(), strftime(), strptime(), time(), tzset(), utime()
The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1-2008, Section 4.15, Seconds Since the Epoch, <time.h>
COPYRIGHT
Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2013 Edition, Standard for Information Technol-
ogy -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, Copyright (C) 2013 by the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. (This is POSIX.1-2008 with the 2013 Technical Corrigendum 1 applied.) In the
event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Stan-
dard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.unix.org/online.html .
Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of the source
files to man page format. To report such errors, see https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .
IEEE
/The Open Group 2013 MKTIME(3P)