DateTime

Chapter lab: Text and datach15-text.zip · 5 KB

This lesson continues in the same lab as the lesson before it. If you don’t have it yet, download it here.

Or fetch and unpack it from a terminal in VS Code:

bash / zsh
PowerShell

curl -fsSLO https://manykarim.github.io/robotframework-essentials-web/labs/ch15-text.zip && unzip -q ch15-text.zip && rm ch15-text.zip

Invoke-WebRequest https://manykarim.github.io/robotframework-essentials-web/labs/ch15-text.zip -OutFile ch15-text.zip; Expand-Archive ch15-text.zip -DestinationPath .; Remove-Item ch15-text.zip

Open the folder in VS Code with code rfe-ch15-text (or File → Open Folder…) and accept the recommended RobotCode and Python extensions. Then set it up:

uv sync

bash / zsh
PowerShell

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
pip install -r requirements.txt

Keep the environment active in every terminal where you run lesson commands.

poetry install --no-root

Python 3.13 or newer is required; uv installs it when it is missing.

Open in browserNo setup? Try the lab right here: its files, an editor and a terminal, running in your browser.

What's inside

Directoryrfe-ch15-text/
- Directory.vscode/
  - extensions.json
- Directorychecks/
  - smoke.robot
- Directorysample_data/
  - app.log
  - catalog.xml
  - orders.csv
  - results.xml
  - settings.cfg
- .gitignore
- .python-version
- LAB.md
- pyproject.toml
- README.md
- requirements.txt
- uv.lock

The DateTime standard library parses dates and computes durations — useful whenever a check involves timing or timestamps. Convert Date parses a date string; Subtract Date From Date returns the gap, in seconds by default.

Task 1 — Compute a duration between two times

Edit

Goal: create checks/datetime.robot that parses two times twenty minutes apart and asserts the gap between them in seconds.

Here is the same calculation over a different, shorter interval. Adapt it.

Worked example — adapt it, don’t copy it

*** Settings ***
Library    DateTime

*** Test Cases ***
Measure Minutes Between Times
    ${start}=    Convert Date    2026-01-15 09:00:00
    ${end}=      Convert Date    2026-01-15 09:05:00
    ${gap}=    Subtract Date From Date    ${end}    ${start}
    Should Be Equal As Numbers    ${gap}    300

Done when

the suite imports DateTime and defines Compute A Duration.

Hint 1

Parse both times with Convert Date, e.g. Convert Date 2026-07-01 08:00:00 and Convert Date 2026-07-01 08:20:00.

Hint 2

Subtract Date From Date ${end} ${start} gives the gap in seconds. Twenty minutes is 1200 — assert Should Be Equal As Numbers ${elapsed} 1200.

Solution

*** Settings ***
Library    DateTime

*** Test Cases ***
Compute A Duration
    ${start}=    Convert Date    2026-07-01 08:00:00
    ${end}=      Convert Date    2026-07-01 08:20:00
    ${elapsed}=    Subtract Date From Date    ${end}    ${start}
    Should Be Equal As Numbers    ${elapsed}    1200

Task 2 — Run it green

Run

Run:

uv run robot checks

robot checks

poetry run robot checks

Done when

the computed duration is 1200 seconds.

Check your understanding

Quick recall. Your first answer stays in this browser; the quiz never blocks your progress.

Subtract Date From Date returns, by default…
Show the answer
Answer: the difference in seconds — By default it returns the difference as a number of seconds.
Convert Date is used to…
Show the answer
Answer: parse a date string into a comparable value — It converts a date string into a value you can compute with.

Key terms

DateTimeconcept: Standard library for dates and durations.
Subtract Date From Datekeyword: Difference between two dates, in seconds by default.

All terms in the glossary →