xclock

autophil · 05-24-2007, 12:39 AM

I would be very interested to know if it is possible to configure xclock to bring up say 3 or 4 different displays simultaneously each with a different time zone.
So it can say for instance London Mon15:30
- New York Mon06:30
- Sydney Mon15:30
Is there a simple answer to this?
phil

druuna · 05-24-2007, 02:37 AM

Hi,

This is possible (at least on a solaris box...).

xclock -> starts a clock with the current (local) time,
`TZ=GMT ; xclock` => starts xclock showing GMT time.

Like I stated, I tried this on a solaris box (I'm at work, no linux box around). I do assume that linux doesn't use/set the TZ variable, but something simular must be possible. I'll give it another look when I'm back home and come back with the results.

druuna · 05-24-2007, 09:35 AM

Hi,

On my linux box, TZ is not set, but I can use it to manipulate the xclock setting:

(export TZ=America/Sao_Paulo ; xclock)

Using the GMT / PDT / etc setting don't seem to work correctly on linux, you should use the timezone notation as shown by the tzset command.

Hope this helps.

theoffset · 05-24-2007, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by druuna

Using the GMT / PDT / etc setting don't seem to work correctly on linux, you should use the timezone notation as shown by the tzset command.

If you want to use GMT you have to use it like

Code:

$ TZ=":GMT" xclock &

If you want to use GMT[+-][0..12] format try it like

Code:

$ TZ=":Etc/GMT+1" xclock &
$ #Or
$ TZ=":Etc/GMT-9" xclock &

If you want a specific city try

Code:

$ TZ=":Continent-or-region/City_(or_neighbour_city)_Name" xclock &
$ # For example:
$ TZ=":America/New_York" xclock &
$ TZ=":Australia/Sydney" xclock &

For more info see
man 3 tzset
and for the exact region/city availables see
ls /usr/share/zoneinfo.

druuna · 05-24-2007, 10:54 AM

Hi,

I should learn to read more carefully, the :[filespec] notation is indeed in the manpage and I completely overlooked it. Just tried the :PDT notation and it works beautifully.

@theoffset: Thanks for the info/correction!

autophil · 05-24-2007, 12:42 PM

Thanks guys.
I tried all these things and they work A ok!
What I need to know now is: how to start 3 clocks at the same time and keep them alive as a permanent desktop application or on a tool bar.
Can one construct an application that can be run on demand with the 3 clocks in a single window perhaps?
Phil

druuna · 05-24-2007, 12:53 PM

Hi,

You could create a small bash script, something like this:

Quote:

#!/bin/bash

(export TZ=America/Sao_Paulo ; xclock) &
(export TZ=Europe/Amsterdam ; xclock) &
(export TZ=Asia/Tokyo ; xclock) &

If you want to manipulate the positioning, xclock can use the -geometry +x+y notation. For example: xclock -geometry +0+0 will place your clock in the upper left counter.

Hope this helps

autophil · 05-24-2007, 01:28 PM

It helps a good deal.
It works, yes.
I tried to substitute xclock with
<xclock -d -strftime %A-%H:%M-%Z -geometry 200x30>

in order to make it a digital clock inside a small box along with the weekday and timezone name. O dear then it complains
"syntax error near unexpected token `-d'"
Does this mean that the command is getting too long and too complicated?
Phil.

druuna · 05-24-2007, 01:35 PM

Hi,

If I try your code (xclock -d -strftime %A-%H:%M-%Z -geometry 200x30) on my box, it works nicely. I do assume that the < and > are _not_ part of your code.

Alien_Hominid · 05-24-2007, 03:45 PM

Also works for me.

autophil · 05-25-2007, 11:14 AM

yes. Works absolutely 100 % fine. Thanks for all the pointers.
Its all part of a learning curve, so the next step I see is - How does one make this so that it can be evoked from a menu item called worldclock or something like that.
Phil

gnashley · 05-25-2007, 11:56 AM

Just paste the contents of the above script into a new text document named worldclock.
Then make it executable: 'chmod 755 worldclock'
Then place a copy in /usr/local/bin and type 'worldclock' or place the command in your xintrc file(may need to background it: 'worldclock &').

autophil · 05-25-2007, 01:50 PM

Yeah that works perfectly and Ive learned quite a bit via this exercise. Now I don know if this is pushing it a bit but how would one then put all these three clock displays into one window so they dont open as three different little windows but as three features in one window?
phil.

dive · 05-25-2007, 02:24 PM

rewrite the program. On the other hand there is a clock that does what you need, but I don't remember the name of it now. Maybe searching sourceforge for 'linux clock' might find it.

autophil · 05-26-2007, 12:50 AM

Yes I have searched sourceforge extensively. But on the other hand It would be good to learn to do this myself. Maybe there is some reading matter on a website that can read and follow this up.
phil