Version

    Date difference

    The Date difference step calculates the time difference in the specified time unit (days, weeks, months, years, hours, minutes, seconds, or milliseconds) between two date columns.

    Parameters

    • First date column: required, select a date column from the column list.

    • Second date column: required, select a date column from the column list.

    • Unit: required, select the date unit that will be used in the calculation (days, weeks, months, years, hours, minutes, seconds, milliseconds).

    • Target column: required, configure the column which will receive the output. Output will always be an integer.

      • Write result to the current column: outputs data into the First date column.

      • Create new column with name: create a new column with specified name. Name of the new column can contain spaces or special characters - technical column name will be created automatically. The new column will be placed next to the First date column.

    Examples
    First date column Second date column Unit Result Notes

    2023-03-31

    2023-01-01

    Days

    89

    2023-01-01

    2023-03-31

    Days

    -89

    Second date is after the first, result is negative.

    2023-03-31

    2023-01-01

    Months

    2

    2023-01-01

    2023-03-31

    Months

    -2

    Second date is after the first, result is negative.

    2023-03-25 04:51:25

    2023-03-25 03:00:00

    Hours

    1

    Difference is 1 hour 51 minutes 25 seconds which is truncated to 1 hour.

    2023-03-25 04:51:25

    2023-03-25 03:00:00

    Minutes

    111

    Difference is 1 hour 51 minutes 25 seconds which is 111 minutes and 25 seconds which is truncated to 111 minutes.

    2023-03-25 04:51:25

    2023-03-25 03:00:00

    Seconds

    6685

    Difference is 6685 seconds exactly, no truncation is necessary.

    No value

    Any

    Any

    Error

    Error
    Remarks

    • The order of the dates in the step parameters matters. The step always calculates First date - Second date, which might result in negative values if Second date is after the First date.

    • The result is truncated to the whole number of units. For example, if the time difference between the values is 2 hours 45 minutes, the result will be "2" if the time unit is hours.

    • If any of the input dates is No value, the step will fail.

    • If any of the input dates is an Error, the step will fail.

    See also