Installing parsedatetime
python setup.py install
Python 2.6 or greater is required for parsedatetime version 1.0 or greater.
Running Unit Tests
In the source tree do the following:
python run_tests.py parsedatetime
Using parsedatetime
The simple example of how to use parsedatetime is:
import parsedatetime.parsedatetime as pdt
cal = pdt.Calendar()
cal.parse("tomorrow")More detailed examples can be found in the examples directory.
Documentation
The generated documentation is included by default in the docs directory and can also be viewed online at
http://code-bear.com/code/parsedatetime/docs/index.html
The docs can be generated using either of the two commands:
python setup.py doc
epydoc --html --config epydoc.conf
Notes
The Calendar class has a member property named ptc which
is created during the class init method to be an instance
of parsedatetime_consts.CalendarConstants().
History
The code in parsedatetime has been implemented over the years in many different languages (C, Clipper, Delphi) as part of different custom/proprietary systems I've worked on. Sadly the previous code is not "open" in any sense of that word.
When I went to work for Open Source Applications Foundation and realized that the Chandler project could benefit from my experience with parsing of date/time text I decided to start from scratch and implement the code using Python and make it truly open.
After working on the initial concept and creating something that could be shown to the Chandler folks the code has now evolved to it's current state with the help the Chandler folks, most especially Darshana.