View source for ChatZilla:Timestamps

ChatZilla's timestamp stuff is inconsistent. Braindump go! - [[User:Rdm|Robert Marshall]] 08:02, 3 July 2006 (PDT)

==Current Situation==
*Display timestamps use a preference with % replacements for y/m/d/h/n/s, defaulting to ''[%h:%n]''.  They're displayed using CSS generated content.
*Log timestamps use [http://lxr.mozilla.org/seamonkey/find?string=nsDateTimeFormat native date/time formatting], hardcoded to use short date and time with no seconds.
*''View →�Show Timestamps'' toggles timestamp status for the current view and all child views.

==Problems==
*The user can't customize log timestamps without changing system settings, and even then they can't turn on seconds.
*Log file analyzers such as [http://pisg.sourceforge.net/ PISG] can't figure out what format a log is using.
*Display timestamps can't be made to use a 12-hour clock.
*Turning timestamps on and off is slow, especially with many views and a lot of scrollback.

==Existing code==
*ReadMe's [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/attachment.cgi?id=213994&action=edit JS strftime()].
*Silver's ex-0.9.68.6 stuff.

==Proposed changes==
*Stop using generated content. '''✓'''
*Make both log and display timestamps use the native formatter by default. '''✓'''
**Log timestamps should use the same settings they do currently. '''✓'''
**Display timestamps should use time only. '''✓'''
*Move default timestamp formatting to its own function that plugins can mess with if necessary. 
*Add prefs to allow native formatting to be overridden with strftime. '''✓'''
**If possible, make sure old custom timestampFormat prefs are compatible. If not, change the pref name and migrate. '''✓'''
*Make ''View →�Show Timestamps'' apply globally, retaining the prefs for people who want it different from view to view.

==Questions==
*What should the format prefs look like? Two options:
**A pref for logs, and a pref for display. '''✓'''
**A pref for time, and a pref for date. Logs use both, display uses time only. '''✗'''
*Which of the prefs discussed should be hidden?
**"All of them"'s fine by me, maybe hide the formatting ones but keep the ones for ''timestamps''?
**Show display, hide logs.
**Show all on client, but hide on others.
*What should ''/timestamps'' do?
**Leave it as-is for now.
*What should ''/timestamp-format'' do?
**Kill it with fire. '''✓'''
*Should duplicate timestamps get "collapsed"?
**Silver already implemented this.
**Maybe overload on the ''collapseMsgs'' pref? '''✓'''
*Should we attempt to add a timestamp format "marker" to logs? '''✗'''
**Probably overkill.
**Tell people who use log analyzers to use custom prefs.