[threeten-dev] [threeten-develop] DateTime interface

[Michael Nascimento]

Stephen's email seems to be motivated to the recent feedback we got on
the list. For someone getting to know the API, having DateTime seems
to make LocalDateTime or Zone[d]DateTime feel like some specialization
(not implementation), while makes LocalDate seem unrelated by looking
at its name.

I support the proposed change.

Regards,
Michael

On Thu, Dec 13, 2012 at 2:16 PM, David M. Lloyd <david.lloyd at redhat.com> wrote:
> Nah.  Temporal is a much better name.
>
> On 12/13/2012 10:11 AM, Roger Riggs wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> The API is described as the date-time API and as a whole it manipulates
>> dates, times and related values.  The DateTime interface ties all of those
>> concepts and objects together.
>>
>> The code snippet below is not representative of how DateTime is
>> likely to be used.  We would not promote that form of usage because
>> the concrete class and its immutability and finality are lost.
>>
>> The DateTime interface predominately appears as an argument in the
>> parameter list of methods as a way to pass any of the concrete types.
>> The context of that class and method define the expectations of the
>> parameter.
>>
>> The current name is a good one for the purpose and better than the
>> suggested alternatives.
>>
>> The ripple effects of changing names add a significant risk;
>> any change must bring a real and indisputable benefit.
>>
>> Roger
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 12/13/2012 10:42 AM, Stephen Colebourne wrote:
>>> Looking at it again, the DateTime interface is not that well named.
>>>
>>> Each of the following are implementations of DateTime:
>>>
>>> DateTime a = LocalDateTime.now()
>>> DateTime b = ZoneDateTime.now()
>>> DateTime c = LocalDate.now();
>>> DateTime d = LocalTime.now();
>>> DateTime e = Instant.now();
>>> DateTime f = ZoneOffset.UTC;
>>>
>>> While LocalDateTime and Zone[d]DateTime make sense, the others make
>>> far less sense.
>>>
>>> Why does LocalDate implement DateTime when it has no time?
>>> Why does ZoneOffset implement DateTime when it has neither a date nor time?
>>>
>>> The purpose of the interface is to effectively represent common access
>>> to some part of the date/time domain.
>>>
>>> For a long time, the name was Calendrical, but that wasn't much liked.
>>> Some alternatives:
>>> - Calendrical
>>> - Calend
>>> - Moment
>>> - TimeAspect
>>> - Temporal
>>>
>>> Personally, I think "temporal" is pretty good. It means "of or
>>> relating to time".
>>>
>>> Other suggestions welcome, although change is not yet certain.
>>>
>>> Note that there are some other related interfaces:
>>> - DateTimeAccessor
>>> - DateTimeField
>>> - PeriodUnit
>>>
>>> Some or all of these might also make sense to consider.
>>>
>>> Stephen
>>>
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>>
>> --
>> Thanks, Roger
>>
>> Oracle Java Platform Group
>>
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>>
>>
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>
>
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