bug#13517: How to change the date format in linux

[Eric Blake]

tag 13517 notabug
thanks

On 01/20/2013 11:59 PM, Vinay Jain wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I want to change the date format in linux. How can i do it?
> 
> Right now if i will fire a command: date '+%D' then it will display 01/20/13.
> I want that when i fire the command date '+%D' then it should be displayed
> as 20/01/2013.
> 
> How can i achieve this?

You probably want to use %x (locale-specific date representation)
instead of %D (hard-coded to %m/%d/%y), and then be sure that your
environment contains an appropriate LC_ALL to pick up locale rules where
%x expands to your desired format.  Another option (but less flexible)
is to call out the pieces instead of using the meta symbol (that is, use
+%d/%m/%Y instead of %D).

As this is a usage question, and not a bug, I've gone ahead and closed
it so the tracker doesn't report something that still needs fixing in
coreutils code.  However, you should feel free to reply with any further
comments or questions on the issue.

Also, while your particular question didn't touch on any of the FAQ, you
might find it helpful to read this, covering other subtleties and common
questions about date:
https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/faq/coreutils-faq.html#The-date-command-is-not-working-right_002e

-- 
Eric Blake   eblake redhat com    +1-919-301-3266
Libvirt virtualization library http://libvirt.org

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