Discussion Overview
The discussion revolves around understanding the date format used in Picasa.ini files, which are associated with the Picasa image organization program. Participants are exploring the structure of the date representation to facilitate the creation of multiple .ini files programmatically.
Discussion Character
- Exploratory
- Technical explanation
- Debate/contested
Main Points Raised
- One participant seeks assistance in determining the date format used in Picasa.ini files for automation purposes.
- Another participant suggests providing an example of the date format to clarify the inquiry.
- A participant describes the format as generally appearing as "date=43243.546435," indicating a structure of five digits followed by a dot and six more digits.
- Questions arise regarding whether the example values correspond to actual dates or are fabricated for illustration.
- Some participants speculate that the encoding may represent the number of milliseconds since a reference date, such as January 1970, or a function of that value.
- Another participant proposes that the format measures the number of days from a reference date.
- One participant claims the date format is similar to that used in OpenOffice and Excel, suggesting that the digits before the decimal represent days since December 30, 1899, while those after represent time.
- A link to additional information and code for converting dates is provided, but its relevance is not universally accepted.
Areas of Agreement / Disagreement
Participants express differing views on the interpretation of the date format, with no consensus reached on its exact nature or the validity of the proposed models.
Contextual Notes
There are uncertainties regarding the reference date used in the encoding and the exact meaning of the digits on either side of the decimal point. The discussion does not resolve these ambiguities.