laravel Carbon calculate age at death (not till now) - laravel

get age till now() can use the code below
// Accessor for Age.
public function getAgeAttribute()
{
return Carbon::parse($this->attributes['birth_date'])->age;
}
but what about if the person is dead ?
in the database [death_date] field stored null or yyyy-mm-dd
so how to calculate the age between birth date ~ death date
// Accessor for Age.
public function getAgeAttribute()
{
if (!is_null($this->attributes['death_date']))
{
// how to calculate death_date - birth_date = realAge
return $realAge;
}
return Carbon::parse($this->attributes['birth_date'])->age;
}
just in case someone view this post, here is my answer
// Accessor for Age.
public function getAgeAttribute()
{
// return is_null($this->attributes['death_date'])
// ? Carbon::parse($this->attributes['birth_date'])->age
// : Carbon::parse($this->attributes['birth_date'])->diff(Carbon::parse($this->attributes['death_date']))->format('%y');
// oh, Carbon will auto convert NULL to now(), so no need the upper code
return Carbon::parse($this->attributes['birth_date'])->diff(Carbon::parse($this->attributes['death_date']))->format('%y');
}

you can solve it as the following:
public function getAgeAttribute()
{
if (!is_null($this->attributes['death_date']))
{
$realAge = Carbon::parse($this->attributes['death_date'])->diff(Carbon::parse($this->attributes['birth_date']))->format('%y');
return $realAge
}
return Carbon::parse($this->attributes['birth_date'])->age;
}

$birth_date = Carbon::parse($this->attributes['birth_date']);
$death_date = Carbon::parse($this->attributes['death_date']);
echo $birth_date->diffInYears($death_date);

Assuming you're looking for the age in years, try this:
$birth = new Carbon($this->attributes['birth_date']);
$death = new Carbon($this->attributes['death_date']);
$age = $birth->diffInYears($death); // Returns Integer

Related

is it possible to update parent table through child table

I want to update the column status of my Goal table if the percentage column on the Accomplishment table reach 100
$accomplishment = new Accomplishment();
$accomplishment->emp_id = Auth::user()->employees->first()->id;
$accomplishment->goal_id = $request->goals;
$accomplishment->date = $request->date;
$accomplishment->accomplishment = $request->accomplishment;
// $accomplishment->no_of_hours = $request->hours;
$accomplishment->remarks = $request->remarks;
$accomplishment->percentage_of_goal = $request->percentage;
$accomplishment->save();
Of course, if You've added relations you can run
(if you have more than one relation to the parent, run)
foreach($accomplishment->goals as $goal) {
$goal->some_field = true;
$goal->save();
}
(if you have only one parent)
$accomplishment->goal->some_field = true;
$accomplishment->goal->save();
Inside model Accomplishment.php you should have
public function goal()
{
return $this->belongsTo(Goal::class);
}
Or add boot method for the model and it will run each time when Accomplishment.php is creating
protected static function boot()
{
parent::boot();
self::creating(function ($accomplishment) {
if($accomplishment->percentage_of_goal === 100) {
$accomplishment->goal->some_field = true;
$accomplishment->goal->save()
}
});
}
Read more about Laravel relations here https://laravel.com/docs/7.x/eloquent-relationships

dynamic sort columns doesn't work in linq

in linq i'm tring to create gridview with dynamic sort columns
can any one help me what is worng on below code and why it does't work
// i created this function to get column value which i need to sorty by
private static string GetReflectedPropertyValue( object subject, string field)
{
object reflectedValue = subject.GetType().GetProperty(field).GetValue(subject, null);
return reflectedValue != null ? reflectedValue.ToString() : "";
}
// this is my grid query
List<ticketSearchRes> tickets = new List<ticketSearchRes>();
// here i deteermined sort direction ascending or desc
bool asc = (gridViewInputsVM.SortDirection == "asc") ? true : false;
bool desc = (gridViewInputsVM.SortDirection != "asc") ? true : false;
IQueryable<ticketSearchRes> source = (from ticket in _db.TblTicket
where (searchRes.assignTic == 1) ? ticket.AssignedTo == CurrentuserId : true
where (searchRes.myTicket == 1 && searchRes.forOthers != 1) ? ticket.CreatedFor == CurrentuserId : true
orderby
asc ? GetReflectedPropertyValue(ticket, "TicketTitle") : "",
// here i need to get dynamic column which i need to sort by
desc ? GetReflectedPropertyValue(ticket, "TicketTitle") : "" descending // doesn't work
select new ticketSearchRes
{
title = (ticket.TicketTitle != null) ? ticket.TicketTitle.ToString() : "",
ticId = ticket.TicketId.ToString()
}).AsQueryable();
How I would solve this is;
The partial class TicketSearchResList is part that fills in the partial method CustomSort. CustomSort accepts a property name and a sort direction and uses Reflection to sort on the named property. So far it should be easy to follow.
public partial class TicketSearchResList : List<TicketSearchRes>
{
partial void CustomSort(string propertyName, string direction);
public void Dump()
{
CustomSort("TicketTitle", "desc");
foreach(var ticket in this)
Console.WriteLine(ticket.ToString()); // For demo purposes
}
}
public partial class TicketSearchResList {
private string propertyName;
private string direction;
partial void CustomSort(string propertyName, string direction)
{
this.propertyName = propertyName;
this.direction = direction;
Sort(Comparer);
}
private int Comparer(TicketSearchRes x, TicketSearchRes y)
{
int directionChanger = direction == "asc" ? 1 : -1;
try
{
PropertyInfo lhs = x.GetType().GetProperty(propertyName);
PropertyInfo rhs = y.GetType().GetProperty(propertyName);
object o1 = lhs.GetValue(x, null);
object o2 = rhs.GetValue(y, null);
if(o1 is IComparable && o2 is IComparable)
{
return ((IComparable)o1).CompareTo(o2) * directionChanger;
}
// No sort
return 0;
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
Debug.WriteLine(ex.Message); // Should log something
return 0;
}
}
The comparison is done using Reflection in the Comparer method. The direction is
used to determine whether to multiply the result by 1 or -1. CompareTo returns
an integer where -1 means less than, 0 means equal to, and 1 means greater than. Thus, if
you multiply the result by -1, you change the direction of the sort.
Finally, the TicketSearchResList class inherits from List<TicketResearchRes>. As you can see, the Dump method calls CustomSort, which, if implemented, yields ordered output.
Also, have a look at the Sort Method documented here by Microsoft

Compare most recent values from multiple BehaviorSubjects

Say I have this:
isMatchedCountLessThanTotalCountMessage(){
// I want to implement this
// "returns" a string asynchronously
}
getMatchedEventsCount() {
return this.dcs.matchCount.asObservable();
}
getTotalEventsCount() {
return this.dcs.totalCount.asObservable();
}
matchedCount and totalCount are like so:
public matchCount = new BehaviorSubject<number>(0);
public totalCount = new BehaviorSubject<number>(0);
these Observables fire integers as values change. Anytime a value is fired from either one, I want to compare the two most recent values from both, how do I do that?
What I want to do is return a boolean from the method
so I can display in the HTML:
<div>{{(isMatchedCountLessThanTotalCountMessage() | async)}}</div>
I think Observable.zip might do the trick:
isMatchedCountLessThanTotalCountMessage(){
return Observable.zip(
this.getMatchedEventsCount(),
this.getTotalEventsCount()
)
.subscribe(function(v){
const intA = v[0];
const intB = v[1];
if(intA > intB)
// but I don't know how to send a message the HTML from here
});
}
You can easily use .map() function to transform the data you want:
isMatchedCountLessThanTotalCountMessage() {
return Observable.combineLatest(
this.getMatchedEventsCount(),
this.getTotalEventsCount(),
)
.map(([intA, intB]) => {
return intA > intB ? '(results ARE filtered)' : '(results are not filtered)'
})
}
This works, although we might be able to use something other than Observable.zip.
isMatchedCountLessThanTotalCount() {
return Observable.create(obs => {
return Observable.zip(
this.getMatchedEventsCount(),
this.getTotalEventsCount()
)
.subscribe(v => {
if ((v[1] - v[0]) > 0) {
obs.next('(results ARE filtered)')
}
else {
obs.next('(results are not filtered)');
}
});
});
}
and there is actually a simpler way to do that using what's called a "projection function":
isMatchedCountLessThanTotalCount() {
return Observable.combineLatest(
this.getMatchedEventsCount(),
this.getTotalEventsCount(),
function (one, two) {
if ((two - one) > 0) {
return '(results ARE filtered)'
}
return '(results are not filtered)';
}
)
}
Observable.combineLatest() is similar to Observable.zip() but will fire upon the first new value, it doesn't wait for new values to come from all observables.

The method 'OrderBy' must be called before the method 'Skip' Exception

I was trying to implement the jQgrid using MvcjQgrid and i got this exception.
System.NotSupportedException was unhandled by user code
Message=The method 'Skip' is only supported for sorted input in LINQ to Entities. The method 'OrderBy' must be called before the method 'Skip'.
Though OrdeyBy is used before Skip method why it is generating the exception? How can it be solved?
I encountered the exception in the controller:
public ActionResult GridDataBasic(GridSettings gridSettings)
{
var jobdescription = sm.GetJobDescription(gridSettings);
var totalJobDescription = sm.CountJobDescription(gridSettings);
var jsonData = new
{
total = totalJobDescription / gridSettings.PageSize + 1,
page = gridSettings.PageIndex,
records = totalJobDescription,
rows = (
from j in jobdescription
select new
{
id = j.JobDescriptionID,
cell = new[]
{
j.JobDescriptionID.ToString(),
j.JobTitle,
j.JobType.JobTypeName,
j.JobPriority.JobPriorityName,
j.JobType.Rate.ToString(),
j.CreationDate.ToShortDateString(),
j.JobDeadline.ToShortDateString(),
}
}).ToArray()
};
return Json(jsonData, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet);
}
GetJobDescription Method and CountJobDescription Method
public int CountJobDescription(GridSettings gridSettings)
{
var jobdescription = _dataContext.JobDescriptions.AsQueryable();
if (gridSettings.IsSearch)
{
jobdescription = gridSettings.Where.rules.Aggregate(jobdescription, FilterJobDescription);
}
return jobdescription.Count();
}
public IQueryable<JobDescription> GetJobDescription(GridSettings gridSettings)
{
var jobdescription = orderJobDescription(_dataContext.JobDescriptions.AsQueryable(), gridSettings.SortColumn, gridSettings.SortOrder);
if (gridSettings.IsSearch)
{
jobdescription = gridSettings.Where.rules.Aggregate(jobdescription, FilterJobDescription);
}
return jobdescription.Skip((gridSettings.PageIndex - 1) * gridSettings.PageSize).Take(gridSettings.PageSize);
}
And Finally FilterJobDescription and OrderJobDescription
private static IQueryable<JobDescription> FilterJobDescription(IQueryable<JobDescription> jobdescriptions, Rule rule)
{
if (rule.field == "JobDescriptionID")
{
int result;
if (!int.TryParse(rule.data, out result))
return jobdescriptions;
return jobdescriptions.Where(j => j.JobDescriptionID == Convert.ToInt32(rule.data));
}
// Similar Statements
return jobdescriptions;
}
private IQueryable<JobDescription> orderJobDescription(IQueryable<JobDescription> jobdescriptions, string sortColumn, string sortOrder)
{
if (sortColumn == "JobDescriptionID")
return (sortOrder == "desc") ? jobdescriptions.OrderByDescending(j => j.JobDescriptionID) : jobdescriptions.OrderBy(j => j.JobDescriptionID);
return jobdescriptions;
}
The exception means that you always need a sorted input if you apply Skip, also in the case that the user doesn't click on a column to sort by. I could imagine that no sort column is specified when you open the grid view for the first time before the user can even click on a column header. To catch this case I would suggest to define some default sorting that you want when no other sorting criterion is given, for example:
switch (sortColumn)
{
case "JobDescriptionID":
return (sortOrder == "desc")
? jobdescriptions.OrderByDescending(j => j.JobDescriptionID)
: jobdescriptions.OrderBy(j => j.JobDescriptionID);
case "JobDescriptionTitle":
return (sortOrder == "desc")
? jobdescriptions.OrderByDescending(j => j.JobDescriptionTitle)
: jobdescriptions.OrderBy(j => j.JobDescriptionTitle);
// etc.
default:
return jobdescriptions.OrderBy(j => j.JobDescriptionID);
}
Edit
About your follow-up problems according to your comment: You cannot use ToString() in a LINQ to Entities query. And the next problem would be that you cannot create a string array in a query. I would suggest to load the data from the DB with their native types and then convert afterwards to strings (and to the string array) in memory:
rows = (from j in jobdescription
select new
{
JobDescriptionID = j.JobDescriptionID,
JobTitle = j.JobTitle,
JobTypeName = j.JobType.JobTypeName,
JobPriorityName = j.JobPriority.JobPriorityName,
Rate = j.JobType.Rate,
CreationDate = j.CreationDate,
JobDeadline = j.JobDeadline
})
.AsEnumerable() // DB query runs here, the rest is in memory
.Select(a => new
{
id = a.JobDescriptionID,
cell = new[]
{
a.JobDescriptionID.ToString(),
a.JobTitle,
a.JobTypeName,
a.JobPriorityName,
a.Rate.ToString(),
a.CreationDate.ToShortDateString(),
a.JobDeadline.ToShortDateString()
}
})
.ToArray()
I had the same type of problem after sorting using some code from Adam Anderson that accepted a generic sort string in OrderBy.
After getting this excpetion, i did lots of research and found that very clever fix:
var query = SelectOrders(companyNo, sortExpression);
return Queryable.Skip(query, iStartRow).Take(iPageSize).ToList();
Hope that helps !
SP

Determine Event Recurrence Pattern for a set of dates

I am looking for a pattern, algorithm, or library that will take a set of dates and return a description of the recurrence if one exits, i.e. the set [11-01-2010, 11-08-2010, 11-15-2010, 11-22-2010, 11-29-2010] would yield something like "Every Monday in November".
Has anyone seen anything like this before or have any suggestions on the best way to implement it?
Grammatical Evolution (GE) is suitable for this kind of problem, because you are searching for an answer that adheres to a certain language. Grammatical Evolution is also used for program generation, composing music, designing, etcetera.
I'd approach the task like this:
Structure the problem space with a grammar.
Construct a Context-free Grammar that can represent all desired recurrence patterns. Consider production rules like these:
datepattern -> datepattern 'and' datepattern
datepattern -> frequency bounds
frequency -> 'every' ordinal weekday 'of the month'
frequency -> 'every' weekday
ordinal -> ordinal 'and' ordinal
ordinal -> 'first' | 'second' | 'third'
bounds -> 'in the year' year
An example of a pattern generated by these rules is: 'every second and third wednesday of the month in the year 2010 and every tuesday in the year 2011'
One way to implement such a grammar would be through a class hierarchy that you will later operate on through reflection, as I've done in the example below.
Map this language to a set of dates
You should create a function that takes a clause from your language and recursively returns the set of all dates covered by it. This allows you to compare your answers to the input.
Guided by the grammar, search for potential solutions
You could use a Genetic algorithm or Simulated Annealing to match the dates to the grammar, try your luck with Dynamic Programming or start simple with a brute force enumeration of all possible clauses.
Should you go with a Genetic Algorithm, your mutation concept should consist of substituting an expression for another one based on the application of one of your production rules.
Have a look at the following GE-related sites for code and information:
http://www.bangor.ac.uk/~eep201/jge/
http://nohejl.name/age/
http://www.geneticprogramming.us/Home_Page.html
Evaluate each solution
The fitness function could take into account the textual length of the solution, the number of dates generated more than once, the number of dates missed, as well as the number of wrong dates generated.
Example code
By request, and because it's such an interesting challenge, I've written a rudimentary implementation of the algorithm to get you started. Although it works it is by no means finished, the design should definitively get some more thought, and once you have gleaned the fundamental take-aways from this example I recommend you consider using one the libraries I've mentioned above.
/// <summary>
/// This is a very basic example implementation of a grammatical evolution algorithm for formulating a recurrence pattern in a set of dates.
/// It needs significant extensions and optimizations to be useful in a production setting.
/// </summary>
static class Program
{
#region "Class hierarchy that codifies the grammar"
class DatePattern
{
public Frequency frequency;
public Bounds bounds;
public override string ToString() { return "" + frequency + " " + bounds; }
public IEnumerable<DateTime> Dates()
{
return frequency == null ? new DateTime[] { } : frequency.FilterDates(bounds.GetDates());
}
}
abstract class Bounds
{
public abstract IEnumerable<DateTime> GetDates();
}
class YearBounds : Bounds
{
/* in the year .. */
public int year;
public override string ToString() { return "in the year " + year; }
public override IEnumerable<DateTime> GetDates()
{
var firstDayOfYear = new DateTime(year, 1, 1);
return Enumerable.Range(0, new DateTime(year, 12, 31).DayOfYear)
.Select(dayOfYear => firstDayOfYear.AddDays(dayOfYear));
}
}
abstract class Frequency
{
public abstract IEnumerable<DateTime> FilterDates(IEnumerable<DateTime> Dates);
}
class WeeklyFrequency : Frequency
{
/* every .. */
public DayOfWeek dayOfWeek;
public override string ToString() { return "every " + dayOfWeek; }
public override IEnumerable<DateTime> FilterDates(IEnumerable<DateTime> Dates)
{
return Dates.Where(date => (date.DayOfWeek == dayOfWeek));
}
}
class MonthlyFrequency : Frequency
{
/* every .. */
public Ordinal ordinal;
public DayOfWeek dayOfWeek;
/* .. of the month */
public override string ToString() { return "every " + ordinal + " " + dayOfWeek + " of the month"; }
public override IEnumerable<DateTime> FilterDates(IEnumerable<DateTime> Dates)
{
return Dates.Where(date => (date.DayOfWeek == dayOfWeek) && (int)ordinal == (date.Day - 1) / 7);
}
}
enum Ordinal { First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth }
#endregion
static Random random = new Random();
const double MUTATION_RATE = 0.3;
static Dictionary<Type, Type[]> subtypes = new Dictionary<Type, Type[]>();
static void Main()
{
// The input signifies the recurrence 'every first thursday of the month in 2010':
var input = new DateTime[] {new DateTime(2010,12,2), new DateTime(2010,11,4),new DateTime(2010,10,7),new DateTime(2010,9,2),
new DateTime(2010,8,5),new DateTime(2010,7,1),new DateTime(2010,6,3),new DateTime(2010,5,6),
new DateTime(2010,4,1),new DateTime(2010,3,4),new DateTime(2010,2,4),new DateTime(2010,1,7) };
for (int cTests = 0; cTests < 20; cTests++)
{
// Initialize with a random population
int treesize = 0;
var population = new DatePattern[] { (DatePattern)Generate(typeof(DatePattern), ref treesize), (DatePattern)Generate(typeof(DatePattern), ref treesize), (DatePattern)Generate(typeof(DatePattern), ref treesize) };
Run(input, new List<DatePattern>(population));
}
}
private static void Run(DateTime[] input, List<DatePattern> population)
{
var strongest = population[0];
int strongestFitness = int.MinValue;
int bestTry = int.MaxValue;
for (int cGenerations = 0; cGenerations < 300 && strongestFitness < -100; cGenerations++)
{
// Select the best individuals to survive:
var survivers = population
.Select(individual => new { Fitness = Fitness(input, individual), individual })
.OrderByDescending(pair => pair.Fitness)
.Take(5)
.Select(pair => pair.individual)
.ToArray();
population.Clear();
// The survivers are the foundation for the next generation:
foreach (var parent in survivers)
{
for (int cChildren = 0; cChildren < 3; cChildren++)
{
int treeSize = 1;
DatePattern child = (DatePattern)Mutate(parent, ref treeSize); // NB: procreation may also be done through crossover.
population.Add((DatePattern)child);
var childFitness = Fitness(input, child);
if (childFitness > strongestFitness)
{
bestTry = cGenerations;
strongestFitness = childFitness;
strongest = child;
}
}
}
}
Trace.WriteLine("Found best match with fitness " + Fitness(input, strongest) + " after " + bestTry + " generations: " + strongest);
}
private static object Mutate(object original, ref int treeSize)
{
treeSize = 0;
object replacement = Construct(original.GetType());
foreach (var field in original.GetType().GetFields())
{
object newFieldValue = field.GetValue(original);
int subtreeSize;
if (field.FieldType.IsEnum)
{
subtreeSize = 1;
if (random.NextDouble() <= MUTATION_RATE)
newFieldValue = ConstructRandomEnumValue(field.FieldType);
}
else if (field.FieldType == typeof(int))
{
subtreeSize = 1;
if (random.NextDouble() <= MUTATION_RATE)
newFieldValue = (random.Next(2) == 0
? Math.Min(int.MaxValue - 1, (int)newFieldValue) + 1
: Math.Max(int.MinValue + 1, (int)newFieldValue) - 1);
}
else
{
subtreeSize = 0;
newFieldValue = Mutate(field.GetValue(original), ref subtreeSize); // mutate pre-maturely to find out subtreeSize
if (random.NextDouble() <= MUTATION_RATE / subtreeSize) // makes high-level nodes mutate less.
{
subtreeSize = 0; // init so we can track the size of the subtree soon to be made.
newFieldValue = Generate(field.FieldType, ref subtreeSize);
}
}
field.SetValue(replacement, newFieldValue);
treeSize += subtreeSize;
}
return replacement;
}
private static object ConstructRandomEnumValue(Type type)
{
var vals = type.GetEnumValues();
return vals.GetValue(random.Next(vals.Length));
}
private static object Construct(Type type)
{
return type.GetConstructor(new Type[] { }).Invoke(new object[] { });
}
private static object Generate(Type type, ref int treesize)
{
if (type.IsEnum)
{
return ConstructRandomEnumValue(type);
}
else if (typeof(int) == type)
{
return random.Next(10) + 2005;
}
else
{
if (type.IsAbstract)
{
// pick one of the concrete subtypes:
var subtypes = GetConcreteSubtypes(type);
type = subtypes[random.Next(subtypes.Length)];
}
object newobj = Construct(type);
foreach (var field in type.GetFields())
{
treesize++;
field.SetValue(newobj, Generate(field.FieldType, ref treesize));
}
return newobj;
}
}
private static int Fitness(DateTime[] input, DatePattern individual)
{
var output = individual.Dates().ToArray();
var avgDateDiff = Math.Abs((output.Average(d => d.Ticks / (24.0 * 60 * 60 * 10000000)) - input.Average(d => d.Ticks / (24.0 * 60 * 60 * 10000000))));
return
-individual.ToString().Length // succinct patterns are preferred.
- input.Except(output).Count() * 300 // Forgetting some of the dates is bad.
- output.Except(input).Count() * 3000 // Spurious dates cause even more confusion to the user.
- (int)(avgDateDiff) * 30000; // The difference in average date is the most important guide.
}
private static Type[] GetConcreteSubtypes(Type supertype)
{
if (subtypes.ContainsKey(supertype))
{
return subtypes[supertype];
}
else
{
var types = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.GetAssemblies().ToList()
.SelectMany(s => s.GetTypes())
.Where(p => supertype.IsAssignableFrom(p) && !p.IsAbstract).ToArray();
subtypes.Add(supertype, types);
return types;
}
}
}
Hope this gets you on track. Be sure to share your actual solution somewhere; I think it will be quite useful in lots of scenarios.
If your purpose is to generate human-readable descriptions of the pattern, as in your "Every Monday in November", then you probably want to start by enumerating the possible descriptions. Descriptions can be broken down into frequency and bounds, for example,
Frequency:
Every day ...
Every other/third/fourth day ...
Weekdays/weekends ...
Every Monday ...
Alternate Mondays ...
The first/second/last Monday ...
...
Bounds:
... in January
... between 25 March and 25 October
...
There won't be all that many of each, and you can check for them one by one.
What I would do:
Create samples of the data
Use a clustering algorithm
Generate samples using the algorithm
Creating a fitness function to measure how well it correlates to the full data set. The clustering algorithm will come up with either 0 or 1 suggestions and you can meassure it against how well it fits in with the full set.
Elementate/merge the occurrence with the already found sets and rerun this algorithm.
Looking at that you may want to use either Simulated Annealing, or an Genetic Algorithm. Also, if you have the descriptions, you may want to compare the descriptions to generate a sample.
You could access the system date or system dateandtime and construct crude calendar points in memory based on the date and the day of the week as returned by the call or function result. Then use the number of days in relevant months to sum them and add on the number of days of the day variable in the input and/or access the calendar point for the relevant week starting sunday or monday and calculate or increment index forward to the correct day. Construct text string using fixed characters and insert the relevant variable such as the full name of the day of the week as required. There may be multiple traversals needed to obtain all the events of which the occurrences are to be displayed or counted.
First, find a sequence, if it exists:
step = {day,month,year}
period=0
for d = 1 to dates.count-1
interval(d,step)=datedifference(s,date(d),date(d+1))
next
' Find frequency with largest interval
for s = year downto day
found=true
for d = 1 to dates.count-2
if interval(d,s)=interval(d+1,s) then
found=false
exit for
end if
next
if found then
period=s
frequency=interval(1,s)
exit for
end if
next
if period>0
Select case period
case day
if frequency mod 7 = 0 then
say "every" dayname(date(1))
else
say "every" frequency "days"
end if
case month
say "every" frequency "months on day" daynumber(date(1))
case years
say "every" frequency "years on" daynumber(date(1)) monthname(date(1))
end select
end if
Finally, deal with "in November", "from 2007 to 2010" etc., should be obvious.
HTH
I like #arjen answer but I don't think there is any need for complex algorithm. This is so so simple. If there is a pattern, there is a pattern... therefore a simple algorithm would work. First we need to think of the types of patterns we are looking for: daily, weekly, monthly and yearly.
How to recognize?
Daily: there is a record every day
Weekly: there is a record every week
Monthly: there is a record every month
Yearly: there is a record every year
Difficult? No. Just count how many repetitions you have and then classify.
Here is my implementation
RecurrencePatternAnalyser.java
public class RecurrencePatternAnalyser {
// Local copy of calendars by add() method
private ArrayList<Calendar> mCalendars = new ArrayList<Calendar>();
// Used to count the uniqueness of each year/month/day
private HashMap<Integer, Integer> year_count = new HashMap<Integer,Integer>();
private HashMap<Integer, Integer> month_count = new HashMap<Integer,Integer>();
private HashMap<Integer, Integer> day_count = new HashMap<Integer,Integer>();
private HashMap<Integer, Integer> busday_count = new HashMap<Integer,Integer>();
// Used for counting payments before due date on weekends
private int day_goodpayer_ocurrences = 0;
private int day_goodPayer = 0;
// Add a new calendar to the analysis
public void add(Calendar date)
{
mCalendars.add(date);
addYear( date.get(Calendar.YEAR) );
addMonth( date.get(Calendar.MONTH) );
addDay( date.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH) );
addWeekendDays( date );
}
public void printCounts()
{
System.out.println("Year: " + getYearCount() +
" month: " + getMonthCount() + " day: " + getDayCount());
}
public RecurrencePattern getPattern()
{
int records = mCalendars.size();
if (records==1)
return null;
RecurrencePattern rp = null;
if (getYearCount()==records)
{
rp = new RecurrencePatternYearly();
if (records>=3)
rp.setConfidence(1);
else if (records==2)
rp.setConfidence(0.9f);
}
else if (getMonthCount()==records)
{
rp = new RecurrencePatternMonthly();
if (records>=12)
rp.setConfidence(1);
else
rp.setConfidence(1-(-0.0168f * records + 0.2f));
}
else
{
calcDaysRepetitionWithWeekends();
if (day_goodpayer_ocurrences==records)
{
rp = new RecurrencePatternMonthly();
rp.setPattern(RecurrencePattern.PatternType.MONTHLY_GOOD_PAYER);
if (records>=12)
rp.setConfidence(0.95f);
else
rp.setConfidence(1-(-0.0168f * records + 0.25f));
}
}
return rp;
}
// Increment one more year/month/day on each count variable
private void addYear(int key_year) { incrementHash(year_count, key_year); }
private void addMonth(int key_month) { incrementHash(month_count, key_month); }
private void addDay(int key_day) { incrementHash(day_count, key_day); }
// Retrieve number of unique entries for the records
private int getYearCount() { return year_count.size(); }
private int getMonthCount() { return month_count.size(); }
private int getDayCount() { return day_count.size(); }
// Generic function to increment the hash by 1
private void incrementHash(HashMap<Integer, Integer> var, Integer key)
{
Integer oldCount = var.get(key);
Integer newCount = 0;
if ( oldCount != null ) {
newCount = oldCount;
}
newCount++;
var.put(key, newCount);
}
// As Bank are closed during weekends, some dates might be anticipated
// to Fridays. These will be false positives for the recurrence pattern.
// This function adds Saturdays and Sundays to the count when a date is
// Friday.
private void addWeekendDays(Calendar c)
{
int key_day = c.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH);
incrementHash(busday_count, key_day);
if (c.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_WEEK) == Calendar.FRIDAY)
{
// Adds Saturday
c.add(Calendar.DATE, 1);
key_day = c.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH);
incrementHash(busday_count, key_day);
// Adds Sunday
c.add(Calendar.DATE, 1);
key_day = c.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH);
incrementHash(busday_count, key_day);
}
}
private void calcDaysRepetitionWithWeekends()
{
Iterator<Entry<Integer, Integer>> it =
busday_count.entrySet().iterator();
while (it.hasNext()) {
#SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
Map.Entry pair = (Map.Entry)it.next();
if ((int)pair.getValue() > day_goodpayer_ocurrences)
{
day_goodpayer_ocurrences = (int) pair.getValue();
day_goodPayer = (int) pair.getKey();
}
//it.remove(); // avoids a ConcurrentModificationException
}
}
}
RecurrencePattern.java
public abstract class RecurrencePattern {
public enum PatternType {
YEARLY, MONTHLY, WEEKLY, DAILY, MONTHLY_GOOD_PAYER
}
public enum OrdinalType {
FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH
}
protected PatternType pattern;
private float confidence;
private int frequency;
public PatternType getPattern() {
return pattern;
}
public void setPattern(PatternType pattern) {
this.pattern = pattern;
}
public float getConfidence() {
return confidence;
}
public void setConfidence(float confidence) {
this.confidence = confidence;
}
public int getFrequency() {
return frequency;
}
public void setFrequency(int frequency) {
this.frequency = frequency;
}
}
RecurrencePatternMonthly.java
public class RecurrencePatternMonthly extends RecurrencePattern {
private boolean isDayFixed;
private boolean isDayOrdinal;
private OrdinalType ordinaltype;
public RecurrencePatternMonthly()
{
this.pattern = PatternType.MONTHLY;
}
}
RecurrencePatternYearly.java
public class RecurrencePatternYearly extends RecurrencePattern {
private boolean isDayFixed;
private boolean isMonthFixed;
private boolean isDayOrdinal;
private OrdinalType ordinaltype;
public RecurrencePatternYearly()
{
this.pattern = PatternType.YEARLY;
}
}
Main.java
public class Algofin {
static Connection c = null;
public static void main(String[] args) {
//openConnection();
//readSqlFile();
RecurrencePatternAnalyser r = new RecurrencePatternAnalyser();
//System.out.println(new GregorianCalendar(2015,1,30).get(Calendar.MONTH));
r.add(new GregorianCalendar(2015,0,1));
r.add(new GregorianCalendar(2015,0,30));
r.add(new GregorianCalendar(2015,1,27));
r.add(new GregorianCalendar(2015,3,1));
r.add(new GregorianCalendar(2015,4,1));
r.printCounts();
RecurrencePattern rp;
rp=r.getPattern();
System.out.println("Pattern: " + rp.getPattern() + " confidence: " + rp.getConfidence());
}
}
I think you'll have to build it, and I think it will be a devil in the details kind of project. Start by getting much more thorough requirements. Which date patterns do you want to recognize? Come up with a list of examples that you want your algorithm to successfully identify. Write your algorithm to meet your examples. Put your examples in a test suite so when you get different requirements later you can make sure you didn't break the old ones.
I predict you will write 200 if-then-else statements.
OK, I do have one idea. Get familiar with the concepts of sets, unions, coverage, intersection and so on. Have a list of short patterns that you search for, say, "Every day in October", "Every day in November", and "Every day in December." If these short patterns are contained within the set of dates, then define a union function that can combine shorter patterns in intelligent ways. For example, let's say you matched the three patterns I mention above. If you Union them together you get, "Every day in October through December." You could aim to return the most succinct set of unions that cover your set of dates or something like that.
Have a look at your favourite calendar program. See what patterns of event recurrence it can generate. Reverse engineer them.

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