Description

The Dates.h library is a self-contained, namespace-based C++ header designed to simplify date and time operations. It provides developers with a rich toolkit for date validation, formatting, arithmetic, comparisons, and calendar generation. Unlike typical system-limited functions, this library introduces fine-grained control over temporal data, making it a powerful utility for both academic projects and production-level applications.

The project builds on foundational exercises but extends them with robust enhancements, ensuring accuracy and flexibility when handling real-world date and time scenarios.

It also integrates seamlessly with the Strings.h and Readers.h utilities, showcasing modular design across multiple libraries.

Technologies Used

  • C++ (Core language, STL containers & algorithms)
  • Namespaces (dates, dates_utilities) for modular structure
  • Custom Utility Libraries
    • Strings.h
    • Readers.h
  • C Standard Libraries (ctime, sstream, iomanip, vector)

Functionality & Features

Validation

  • Check leap years, valid days in a month/year.
  • Validate dates against custom or preset formats (DMY, MDY, YMD). -Catch inconsistencies (e.g., yy vs yyyy mismatches in date formats).

Formatting

  • Format dates numerically or with full/abbreviated month names.
  • Support suffixes like 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th.
  • Flexible custom patterns (dd-mm-yyyy, mm/dd/yy, etc.).
  • Time formatting with 12-hour or 24-hour clocks, with optional seconds.

Arithmetic

  • Add or subtract days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, millennia.
  • Compute differences between two dates, with optional inclusion of end days.
  • Calculate ages and durations.

Calendars

  • Generate text-based month and year calendars.
  • Query weekdays, weekends, and business days.

System Integration

  • Retrieve system date, time, and combined datetime.
  • Detect current weekday position and name.

Advanced Utilities

  • Vacation/business day calculators (skipping weekends).
  • Period overlap detection and overlap day counting.
  • Reading and validating user-entered date strings with error messages.

Implementation Highlights

  • Robust Enumeration System – Clean enums define weekdays, formats, month name styles, AM/PM indicators, and validation error types, ensuring readability and maintainability.
  • Two-Level Validation Approach – Supports both preset (DMY, MDY, YMD) and custom formats, with deep validation of numeric/text consistency.
  • Optimized Date Arithmetic – Distinguishes between few vs many days/weeks additions for performance.
  • Leap Year Safety – Prevents invalid carry-overs (e.g., February 29th adjustments across leap years).
  • Calendar Printing – Produces aligned, text-based calendars without third-party dependencies.
  • Integration with Strings.h and Readers.h – Uses string utilities for parsing and reader utilities for interactive input, creating a seamless ecosystem of reusable libraries.

Conclusion

  • Provides a comprehensive and reusable date/time toolkit for C++.
  • Demonstrates strong understanding of validation, arithmetic, and data modeling.
  • Implements thoughtful safeguards (leap years, format mismatches, edge cases).
  • Balances usability (calendar printing, business day counting) with low-level precision (date comparisons, day offsets).
  • Serves as a strong showcase of modular design and clean namespace-based architecture.

How to Use

  1. Download the header file from the section below.
  2. Include it in your C++ project using #include "...", with the appropriate path between the double quotes.
  3. Make sure that you have Strings.h, Readers.h also installed.

Source Code

You can find the source code for this header here.

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