Coding Forum

**Yizit** · 08-24-2004, 06:48 PM

Hi all,

I'm wondering if someone might know why the following displays differently when run locally versus when it is run on the host server. It only happens when using Netscape 7; I.E. displays it properly (although in a different form).

I've had the following script on a site for quite some time but recently changed hosts and I have to assume it has something to do with that.

HTML Code:

<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript"> 

<!-- Begin
var b = "Page last updated on " + document.lastModified;
var j = b.length-8;
document.writeln("<center>");
document.write(b.substring(j, 0));
document.writeln("</center>");
// End -->

</SCRIPT>

Locally it displays as:
Page last updated on Tuesday, August 3, 2004

But when run from the host server it displays as:
Page last updated on Tue, 03 Aug 2004 23:3

Using I.E. 6, the displays are identical, locally and from the server, except that it displays in the following form:
Page last updated on 08/03/2004

Anyone have any idea why the differences?

**theJack** · 08-25-2004, 12:36 AM

The difference is that the "document.lastModified" variable is a field set by the server. My guess is your host server runs some version of linux, while your local is Windows. I would venture that those OSes have different ways to display dates, hence the difference.

I realized this doesn't explain why its the same with IE. Possibly IE automatically converts varying date formats.

**Yizit** · 08-25-2004, 01:13 AM

Thanks for the explanation. You are absolutely correct. Host is running linux and local is running Windows. Although having the Date Last Modified may be helpful to some visitors, it's not imperative that I display this. Out of curiousity though, would you know if this script can be easily modified or if there is another script that will accomplish the same purpose? As it stands now, it just looks unprofessional.

Again, thanks for your explanation.

--Yizit

**Christopher** · 08-25-2004, 01:42 AM

Yes, you have to convert the lastModified string into a timestamp via the Date.parse() method, from there it's as if working with the Date object (meaning, you can do getDay(), getYear() etc).

Here's my muckup of a function you can use. Most of the code is defining the Days and Months because Javascript returns numerical numbers instead of words.

HTML Code:

<html>
<head>
<title>Blah</title>
    <script language="javascript">
    function printDate()
    {
        var timestamp;
        var date;
        var info    = new Array();
        var Days    = new Array();
        var Months  = new Array();

        timestamp = Date.parse(document.lastModified);
        if(timestamp == 0)
            return false;

        date = new Date(timestamp);
        
        Days = {
                    0 : "Sunday",
                    1 : "Monday",
                    2 : "Tuesday",
                    3 : "Wednesday",
                    4 : "Thursday",
                    5 : "Friday",
                    6 : "Saturday",
                    7 : "Sunday"
               };
       
        Months = {
                    0   : "January",
                    1   : "February",
                    2   : "March",
                    3   : "April",
                    4   : "May",
                    5   : "June",
                    6   : "July",
                    7   : "August",
                    8   : "September",
                    9   : "October",
                    10  : "November",
                    11  : "December"
                 };

        info = {
                    'day'   : Days[date.getDay()],
                    'date'  : date.getDate(),
                    'month' : Months[date.getMonth()],
                    'year'  : date.getFullYear()
               };

        document.writeln("Last updated on <strong>" + info['day'] + ", " + info['month'] + " " + info['date'] + ", " + info['year'] + "</strong>");
    }
    </script>
</head>
<body>
<script language="javascript">printDate();</script>
</body>
</html>

**Yizit** · 08-25-2004, 02:50 AM

OK Chroder - got it. Good approach. Using your method not only fixes the problem but also makes the display identical in both Netscape and IE. I've always preferred Netscape's verbose display as opposed to IE's numeric display and it's a change that's been on my 'I'll get around to it someday' list for quite some time.

So..... 1 down and only 4,583 more items to go and I'll be able to toss my to-do list!

Seriouly though - to both you guys - I appreciate the help!

--Yizit