CastToTemporal / Manipulation Layer

Convert string columns to temporal (Date, Time, or DateTime) types. Similar to pandas' to_datetime(), to_time(), or Rust's chrono::{NaiveDate, NaiveTime, DateTime}::parse_from_str().

Example conversions:

Input String	Format Pattern	Type	Result
2024-01-31	%Y-%m-%d	Date	2024-01-31
15:30:45.123	%H:%M:%S.%f	Time	15:30:45.123
2024-01-31T15:30:45Z	%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ	DateTime	2024-01-31 15:30:45 UTC
Jan 31, 2024 at 3:30PM EST	%b %d, %Y at %I:%M%p %Z	DateTime	2024-01-31 15:30:00 -0500
31/01/2024	%d/%m/%Y	Date	2024-01-31
01/31/2024	%m/%d/%Y	Date	2024-01-31
20240131	%Y%m%d	Date	2024-01-31
03:30:45 PM	%I:%M:%S %p	Time	15:30:45
Wed, 31 Jan 2024 15:30:45 +0000	%a, %d %b %Y %H:%M:%S %z	DateTime	2024-01-31 15:30:45 UTC
1706713845	%s	DateTime	2024-01-31 15:30:45 UTC

Real-world examples by industry:

Financial Industry:

Transaction logs: '2024-01-31 15:30:45.123 GMT' → '%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%f %Z'
Trading timestamps: '20240131-153045.123' → '%Y%m%d-%H%M%S.%f'
Banking records: '31-JAN-24' → '%d-%b-%y' (Oracle DB format)

Healthcare:

Patient records: '01/31/2024 @ 1530' → '%m/%d/%Y @ %H%M'
Medical device logs: '2024-01-31T15:30:45.123+00:00' → '%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%f%:z'
Shift scheduling: '15:30 - 23:45' → '%H:%M' (for start time)

IT & Software:

Server logs: '[31/Jan/2024:15:30:45 +0000]' → '[%d/%b/%Y:%H:%M:%S %z]'
Application events: '1706713845123' (ms timestamp) → Parse as number ÷ 1000
Database timestamps: '2024-01-31 15:30:45.123456' → '%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%f'

Manufacturing & Logistics:

Production logs: 'WK04-2024 15:30:45' → 'WK%V-%Y %H:%M:%S'
Shipping records: '31JAN24' → '%d%b%y'
Sensor readings: '20240131153045' → '%Y%m%d%H%M%S'

Science & Research:

Lab notes: '31-Jan-2024 at 15h30m45s' → '%d-%b-%Y at %Hh%Mm%Ss'
Astronomical data: '2024-031T15:30:45.123Z' → '%Y-%jT%H:%M:%S.%fZ' (day of year)
Environmental monitoring: '1530:45 01/31/2024' → '%H%M:%S %m/%d/%Y'

Key features:

Multiple temporal type support (Date, Time, DateTime)
Flexible format parsing with strftime syntax
Configurable time zone handling
Adjustable precision levels (milliseconds to nanoseconds)

Common applications:

Log file timestamp parsing and standardization
Event data normalization for cross-platform analysis
Time series analysis preparation
Schedule and calendar data processing
Historical records analysis
Cross-timezone data reconciliation
Temporal data validation and cleaning

Format specifiers compatible with Rust's chrono library:

Date specifiers:

%Y - Full year (2024)
%y - Year, last two digits (24)
%C - Century (20)
%m - Month, zero-padded (01-12)
%b or %h - Abbreviated month name (Jan)
%B - Full month name (January)
%d - Day of month, zero-padded (01-31)
%e - Day of month, space-padded ( 1-31)
%j - Day of year, zero-padded (001-366)

Time specifiers:

%H - Hour (00-23), zero-padded
%I - Hour in 12-hour clock (01-12), zero-padded
%p - AM/PM (uppercase)
%P - am/pm (lowercase)
%M - Minute (00-59), zero-padded
%S - Second (00-60), zero-padded
%f - Nanoseconds
%.f - Decimal fraction of a second with leading dot

Timezone specifiers:

%z - Timezone offset (+0000)
%:z - Timezone offset with colon (+00:00)
%Z - Timezone name or abbreviation

See StringToDate, StringToTime, and StringToDateTime for more detailed format options.

Table

Select

column

String column containing temporal data to convert. Must contain text that can be parsed into the specified temporal type using the given format.

Format

string

Format string using chrono-compatible strftime syntax. Common patterns:

For Date conversion:

%Y-%m-%d - ISO 8601 date (2024-01-31)
%d/%m/%Y - UK/European date (31/01/2024)
%m/%d/%Y - US date (01/31/2024)
%b %d, %Y - Written date (Jan 31, 2024)

For Time conversion:

%H:%M:%S - 24-hour time (15:30:45)
%I:%M:%S %p - 12-hour time (03:30:45 PM)
%H:%M:%S.%f - Time with fractional seconds (15:30:45.123)

For DateTime conversion:

%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S - ISO format (2024-01-31 15:30:45)
%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%z - ISO 8601 with timezone (2024-01-31T15:30:45+0000)
%a, %d %b %Y %H:%M:%S %z - RFC 2822 (Wed, 31 Jan 2024 15:30:45 +0000)

If not provided, attempts to infer format from data.

TemporalType

enum

Date

Target temporal type for conversion. Choose based on the time components needed for your analysis.

Date ~

Calendar date without time (e.g., 2024-01-31). Maps to Rust's chrono::NaiveDate. Ideal for:

Birthday records and anniversary tracking
Schedule planning and calendar applications
Financial reporting dates (quarterly, yearly)
Academic terms and course scheduling

Time ~

Time of day without date (e.g., 15:30:45). Maps to Rust's chrono::NaiveTime. Suitable for:

Daily schedules and recurring events
Business operating hours
Transportation timetables
Performance timing measurements
Shift scheduling and time tracking

DateTime ~

Complete date and time with optional timezone (e.g., 2024-01-31 15:30:45). Maps to Rust's chrono::DateTime. Used for:

Event logs and audit trails
Transaction timestamps
System monitoring and diagnostics
Time series data analysis
IoT sensor readings
International meeting scheduling

TimeUnit

enum

None

Precision level for time storage, matching chrono's precision options.

None ~

Automatically determine precision from input format. Best for general use when precision requirements are flexible.

Milliseconds ~

Millisecond precision (10^-3 seconds, 3 decimal places). Equivalent to chrono's TimeUnit::MILLI. Suitable for:

Web application logging
User interaction timing
Most business applications
Financial transaction timestamping

Microseconds ~

Microsecond precision (10^-6 seconds, 6 decimal places). Equivalent to chrono's TimeUnit::MICRO. Used in:

Scientific measurements
High-frequency trading
Detailed performance profiling
Audio processing timestamps

Nanoseconds ~

Nanosecond precision (10^-9 seconds, 9 decimal places). Equivalent to chrono's TimeUnit::NANO. For:

Scientific instruments
Precise system timing
Hardware measurements
High-precision simulations

TimeZone

string

Target time zone for DateTime values using IANA timezone database names (e.g., 'UTC', 'America/New_York', 'Europe/London'). Similar to chrono-tz functionality. Critical for:

Global data analysis across regions
Cross-region operations and reporting
Daylight saving time handling
Historical timestamp corrections Empty value means keep original timezone or use local timezone if none specified.

Strict

bool

false

Controls error handling:

true: Fail if any value can't be converted (similar to chrono's strict parsing)
false: Replace invalid values with null Use true for data validation, false for flexible processing.

Exact

bool

true

Controls format matching:

true: Require exact format match (like chrono's parse_from_str)
false: Allow format to match within larger strings Example: with format '%Y-%m-%d', process 'Date: 2024-01-31' when false.

Name for the new column. If not provided, the system generates a unique name. If AsColumn matches an existing column, the existing column is replaced. The name should follow valid column naming conventions.