Ruby - I need to convert string into a timestamp

Question

I need to convert a string that represents a date to a timestamp object in Ruby.

For example:

   date_string = "18-Feb-2016 09:01:04"

   convert to a timestamp like so

   2016-02-18 14:01:04

I need to save this to a mysql database were the column is type timestamp.

I have researched this for most of the day and can not find a solution. I know you can use Time.parse but that includes timezone and DateTime.parse().to_time includes the timezone. Since it has to be a timestamp i can not use strftime method.

I need the time to be included because it will be used for calculation purposes.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Answer 1

TL;DR

datetime = DateTime.parse("18-Feb-2016 09:01:04").to_s(:db)

returns

"2016-02-18 09:01:04"

Here's a quick explanation...

1. Convert your string to a Date object with DateTime.parse

You can use the .parse method from the Date or DateTime class in order to parse a string. The parse method will return a Date object like this:

$ DateTime.parse("18-Feb-2016 09:01:04")
$ => #<DateTime: 2016-02-18T09:01:04+00:00 ((2457437j,32464s,0n),+0s,2299161j)>

.parse is a method provided by Ruby.

2. Format the string with DateTime.parse.to_s

Ruby on Rails gives you access to the DateTime.to_formatted_s method to change the formatting of the Date object prior to storing it in your database.

To match the format that you specified:

$ datetime = DateTime.parse("18-Feb-2016 09:01:04").to_formatted_s

Note: to_s is aliased from to_formatted_s and to_formatted_s is a method provided by Rails, not Ruby.

Answer 2

Use to_datetime method in Rails.

"12-10-2015".to_datetime

=> Mon, 12 Oct 2015 10:36:00 +0000

http://apidock.com/rails/String/to_datetime

Edited to add precise answer.