> Each object executes a loop that tests to see if the date falls within its 
> range

Isn't this exactly what job temporal expressions are intended for?  Twice now 
you've told me that something isn't suitable (TimeOfDayRange and temporal 
expressions themselves) but without making any effort to explain why, if I have 
a hammer and something that looks like a nail then simply saying "that isn't a 
nail" isn't going to convince me.  I need you to tell me that the nail is 
actually made of rubber and hitting it will just smash my thumb :-)

Regards
Scott

On 2/02/2011, at 9:24 AM, [email protected] wrote:

> Actually, temporal expressions should not be used because they aren't the 
> right tool for the job. Here is what I sketched out initially, you can use it 
> if you want:
> 
> We need a data structure that includes a starting day of week and time, an 
> ending day of week and time, a billing rate, and a billing increment. The 
> structure also has a single method to compute billing. The structures are 
> assembled in chronological order in a chain or array.
> 
> A second structure is used as an argument for the first structure's billing 
> method. It includes Dates representing the start and end of the billing 
> period, an accumulator for the billed amount, and an optional List to keep 
> track of the various rates and quantities that were used to compute the total.
> 
> This second structure is initialized and passed to the first object in the 
> chain or is passed to each object in the array. Each object executes a loop 
> that tests to see if the date falls within its range, and if it does, money 
> is added to the accumulator. The billing period start date is incremented by 
> the increment amount and the loop repeats. When the date falls outside the 
> object's range, control is passed to the next object in the array/chain. When 
> the billing period start date equals the billing period end date, the process 
> stops.
> 
> -Adrian
> 
> 
> Quoting Scott Gray <[email protected]>:
> 
>> Hi Adrian,
>> 
>> The reasons you've mentioned below for why temporal expressions shouldn't be 
>> used simply don't apply to my situation.  All I have to support is an admin 
>> defining the rate windows for a tiny date range (maybe 3-10 days) and then 
>> apply pricing based on what windows a start time + duration fall into.  
>> Aside from making sure the appropriate timezone is applied and nothing 
>> quirky happens around DST, I have no other additional complexities in my 
>> requirements.
>> 
>> I would love to be able to collaborate with you on a more robust 
>> implementation but I simply don't have the time, unfortunately I only have 
>> hours available to design and implement a solution rather than days or 
>> weeks.  Thanks for sharing your thoughts though, I really appreciate it.
>> 
>> Regards
>> Scott
>> 
>> On 2/02/2011, at 6:15 AM, [email protected] wrote:
>> 
>>> Scott,
>>> 
>>> I don't think temporal expressions alone will do the job. Here's why:
>>> 
>>> The type of billing you describe is what we call in the US a "shift 
>>> differential." There are other factors that can affect billing too, like 
>>> billing overtime if an employee works more than 8 hours in one day or 40 
>>> hours in one week. In addition, you might want to bill overtime for an 
>>> employee who works on a holiday.
>>> 
>>> These same rules could be applied to payroll to generate time sheets.
>>> 
>>> I'm thinking we need something more comprehensive and flexible than what 
>>> you described.
>>> 
>>> I have experience in writing software for these types of scenarios. If you 
>>> are interested in collaborating on a design, I would be happy to help. If 
>>> so, let's open a Jira issue and start sharing ideas.
>>> 
>>> -Adrian
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Quoting Adrian Crum <[email protected]>:
>>> 
>>>> I'm still scratching my head on this one. I will need a similar 
>>>> implementation in the near future, so I'm interested in helping with the 
>>>> design. I'm reading Fowler's Analysis Patterns (7.7) to see what his 
>>>> solution is.
>>>> 
>>>> -Adrian
>>>> 
>>>> On 2/1/2011 2:09 AM, Scott Gray wrote:
>>>>> It's all a little bit complicated and I keep wondering to myself why I 
>>>>> don't just implement a TimeOfDayRange** to get me past it.  Basically 
>>>>> worker time is orderable in 15 minute increments with a start time and a 
>>>>> duration and I then have to break that duration down into the relevant 
>>>>> rates.  I was hoping to just be able to iterate over each ordered 15 
>>>>> minute intervals and test them against each of the 3 temporal expressions 
>>>>> (standard, overtime, double time) to determine which window each falls 
>>>>> within.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I can't seem to understand why DateRange, HourRange and MinuteRange are 
>>>>> okay but a TimeOfDayRange is a bad design?
>>>>> 
>>>>> ** I just noticed the deprecated implementation in 10.04, and it seems to 
>>>>> do exactly what I had in mind, even if the design/implementation is 
>>>>> flawed do you think it might work for my situation?
>>>>> 
>>>>> Thanks
>>>>> Scott
>>>>> 
>>>>> On 1/02/2011, at 7:25 PM, Adrian Crum wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>>> Thinking about this more...
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> It might be easier to leverage the existing temporal expression + time 
>>>>>> duration code, and simply perform a check to see if a DST transition 
>>>>>> occurred during the billing period. You can perform that check by using 
>>>>>> the TimeZone object.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> -Adrian
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> On 1/31/2011 11:05 AM, [email protected] wrote:
>>>>>>> That is an interesting problem to solve. At first glance it seems you 
>>>>>>> would need separate event start and event end expressions.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> -Adrian
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Quoting Scott Gray<[email protected]>:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Thanks Adrian, I had a feeling that would be the case but just wanted 
>>>>>>>> to double check.
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> What I am trying to do is model different ranges of time in which a 
>>>>>>>> customer would get charged a given rate (standard, overtime, double 
>>>>>>>> time).  The only concern I have with using a rate start time and 
>>>>>>>> duration is daylight saving, if a window were to begin at midnight and 
>>>>>>>> end at 8.30am then using an 8.5hr duration wouldn't work correctly 
>>>>>>>> when daylight savings starts and ends.  So for me it's less important 
>>>>>>>> how long a window lasts but rather at what specific time it closes.
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Thanks
>>>>>>>> Scott
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> HotWax Media
>>>>>>>> http://www.hotwaxmedia.com
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> On 1/02/2011, at 3:03 AM, Adrian Crum wrote:
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> Scott,
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> The TimeOfDay range expression was a bad design and it didn't work, 
>>>>>>>>> so it was replaced with MinuteRange and HourRange.
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> It looks like you might be trying to combine a temporal expression 
>>>>>>>>> with a duration. Does the event keep repeating from 05:00 to 08:30? 
>>>>>>>>> Or does it occur at 05:00 and have a duration of 3.5 hours? Keep in 
>>>>>>>>> mind the Temporal Expression indicates when an event occurs, not how 
>>>>>>>>> long it lasts.
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> -Adrian
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> On 1/30/2011 6:47 PM, Scott Gray wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> Hi Adrian (I assume you're the only one that knows...),
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> In the original jira issue for the temporal expression 
>>>>>>>>>> implementation there was mention of a TimeOfDayRange expression 
>>>>>>>>>> (http://markmail.org/message/pz2i3kzavcnee4ca) but I can't seem to 
>>>>>>>>>> find a corresponding class in the trunk?
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> I'm looking to model something along the lines of:
>>>>>>>>>> Intersection:
>>>>>>>>>>  DayOfWeekRange(Monday, Friday)
>>>>>>>>>>  Union:
>>>>>>>>>>      TimeOfDayRange(5:00, 08:30)
>>>>>>>>>>      TimeOfDayRange(17:30, 22:30)
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> At the moment the only way I can see to do this is with something 
>>>>>>>>>> quite complex like:
>>>>>>>>>> Intersection:
>>>>>>>>>>  DayOfWeekRange(Monday, Friday)
>>>>>>>>>>  Union:
>>>>>>>>>>      Union:
>>>>>>>>>>          HourOfDayRange(5:00, 08:00)
>>>>>>>>>>          Intersection:
>>>>>>>>>>              HourOfDayRange(08:00, 08:00)
>>>>>>>>>>              MinuteOfDyRange(0, 30)
>>>>>>>>>>      Union:
>>>>>>>>>>          Intersection:
>>>>>>>>>>              HourOfDayRange(17:00, 17:00)
>>>>>>>>>>              MinuteOfDyRange(30, 59)
>>>>>>>>>>          HourOfDayRange(18:00, 22:00)
>>>>>>>>>>          Intersection:
>>>>>>>>>>              HourOfDayRange(22:00, 22:00)
>>>>>>>>>>              MinuteOfDyRange(0, 30)
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> Assuming the above is even correct, is it my only option in the 
>>>>>>>>>> current implementation?
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> Thanks
>>>>>>>>>> Scott
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> HotWax Media
>>>>>>>>>> http://www.hotwaxmedia.com
>>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
>> 
> 
> 
> 

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