Working with Date and Time in Sinatra

Working with Date and Time

Sinatra offers a syntax time_for that creates an instance of the Time object from the input value. We can convert this time object to DateTime and Date or any other related classes.

get '/' do
  pass if Time.now > time_for('Aug 2, 2022')
  "You still have time."
end

time_for method used internally by another syntax i.e. expires, last_modified, etc. So, you can further extend the behavior of these methods by overriding time_for in your application.
 

helpers do
  def time_for(value)
    case value
    when :tomorrow  then Time.now + 24*60*60
    when :yesterday then Time.now - 24*60*60
    else super
    end
  end
end

get '/' do
  last_modified :yesterday
  expires :tomorrow
  "Hi Ninja"
end

Output Examples

Time.now -> returns current time
time_for('Aug 2, 2022') -> returns 2 August 2022 time in ms

Now, we can check if Time.now > time_for('Aug 2, 2022') -> True

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Sinatra function?

The web server responds to a series of queries that Sinatra sends and receives. These requests are contained in a controller file, which is part of your program and communicates with the internet. A controller is a component of the MVC architectural design pattern (Models-Views-Controllers).

What exactly are Rails and Sinatra?

Rail is a framework for creating model-driven web applications, while Sinatra is a library for handling HTTP on the server side. Sinatra is an excellent tool for handling HTTP requests and responses. Rails are the way to go if you need full integration and as little boilerplate as possible.

What is Rack middleware?

You can allude rack middleware as a bit of part that helps with the execution of an undertaking. For instance, You can imagine different middleware doing various cycles like logging and reserving.

Why should Sinatra always be chosen over Rails?

Sinatra performs fewer functions out of the box and is significantly more lightweight, resource-efficient, and demanding. Rails are crammed with features and come with a tonne of code, and if you know how to use it, it makes it very simple to construct complex web applications quickly.

Is Flask similar to Sinatra?

Sinatra is ideal for basic apps, much like Flask. Only 4 LOC of the actual Sinatra application is contained in a single Ruby source file, due to which Flask is used instead of libraries like Ruby on Rails. Sinatra is used since it allows you to start small and grow the application as necessary.

Conclusion

In this article, we have learned how to deal with dates and times in Sinatra. I hope you would have gained a better understanding of these topics now!

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