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A beautiful property of using ints to represent dates is that you can manipulate them using simple arithmetic. For example, if you want to refer to noon-time on

A beautiful property of using ints to represent dates is that you can manipulate them using simple arithmetic. For example, if you want to refer to noon-time on 20200806, you can simply divide the day in two and write it as 10100403. An elegant, DRY solution to a perennial problem.

JackFr 6y ago
It’s beautiful. Just mod 7 to find the day of the week.
- gmfawcett 6y ago
  Excellent example. Honestly, I have no idea why the concept hasn't caught on yet. (I'd love to discuss this further... I'll be back on HN later tonight, sometime around 16834005.)
trianglem 6y ago
I don’t get this? What does 10100403 mean?
- gmfawcett 6y ago
  The poster is gently teasing the idea that integers like 20200806 are a reasonable way to to represent dates. Dividing 20200806 by 2, we get 10100403, representing the half-way point of the day (noon-time). Of course it's nonsense.
  - trianglem 6y ago
    I’ve been had