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Date

function Date: TDateTime;

Example​

procedure ScriptEvent(var Value: variant);
begin
  Value := DateToStr(Date);
end;

Usage​

Returns the current local calendar date as a TDateTime value at midnight.

Returns

The host's current local year, month and day encoded as TDateTime, with a time component of 00:00:00.000.

Behaviour

The value represents the calendar date configured for the Windows host. It contains no timezone identifier or UTC offset. Calling it on either side of local midnight can return different dates, including within one long-running flow.

Errors

There is no explicit error handler in the script binding. Normal Windows dates are valid for EncodeDate; any unexpected RTL/OS exception propagates into the script.

Usage notes

Capture Date once in a local variable when a multi-step calculation must use one stable "today" value. Use DateUTC when the business rule is explicitly based on the UTC calendar date.

Additional Technical Info​

Date reads the Velox host's current local calendar date and returns it at midnight. It is a clock operation: the result depends on when and where the script executes.

The example is safe and source-reviewed. It was not executed by the documentation workflow because its output is intentionally host- and time-dependent.

Implementation

The modified PascalScript date/time library registers the script name directly to System.SysUtils.Date. In the Windows branch used by Velox, Delphi calls GetLocalTime, then passes the returned wYear, wMonth and wDay to EncodeDate. The terminal is Delphi RTL plus the Windows local clock.

Edge cases and quirks

  • This is the machine's local date, which can differ from a user's workstation date and from DateUTC.
  • A Windows timezone, clock or date change becomes visible on a later call. The routine does not cache the first value used by a map.
  • Midnight is a numeric time fraction of zero; no indication remains that the value came from the system clock.
  • Free Pascal exposes the same concept, but platform clock and timezone acquisition are implementation-specific. Velox uses Delphi's Windows branch.

Side effects

No persistent state is changed. Reading the operating-system clock is an observable external input.

Performance and concurrency

Constant-time OS clock read and scalar encoding. Concurrent callers can legitimately observe different dates at a midnight or clock-change boundary.

Related entries

  • DateUTC reads the UTC rather than local calendar date.
  • DateOf strips time from an existing value without reading the clock.
  • DateToStr formats a date with process-wide settings.

External references

Created 2026-07-15