Dear R Helpers, I am having difficulty with strptime. I wish to find the differences between two vectors of times. I have apparently no difficulty to convert the vectors to the appropriate format using strptime. But, then difftime does not calculate all the differences.
Here is the code and output:- dob=strptime(as.character(datx$BDT),'%d-%b-%y'); dob$year=dob$year-100 sdate=strptime(as.character(datx$SDT),'%d-%b-%y') head(dob); head(sdate) [1] "1922-07-14" "1922-07-14" "1922-07-14" "1922-07-14" "1921-03-23" "1921-03-23" [1] "2001-08-27" "2001-08-27" "2001-08-27" "2001-08-27" "2001-08-20" "2001-08-20" > str(dob) POSIXlt[1:9], format: "1922-07-14" "1922-07-14" "1922-07-14" "1922-07-14" "1921-03-23" "1921-03-23" "1921-03-23" "1927-08-27" "1927-08-27" "1927-08-27" "1927-08-27" "1940-04-05" "1940-04-05" "1940-04-05" "1940-04-05" ... > str(sdate) POSIXlt[1:9], format: "2001-08-27" "2001-08-27" "2001-08-27" "2001-08-27" "2001-08-20" "2001-08-20" "2001-08-20" "2001-11-26" "2001-11-26" "2001-11-26" "2001-11-26" "2002-05-20" "2002-05-20" "2002-05-20" "2002-05-20" ... table(is.na(sdate)) FALSE 812 table(is.na(dob)) FALSE TRUE 743 69 But if I now look at each component of dob separately, none is missing for (i in 1:length(dob)) {print(names(dob)[i]); print(table(is.na(dob[[i]])))} [1] "sec" FALSE 812 [1] "min" FALSE 812 [1] "hour" FALSE 812 [1] "mday" FALSE 812 [1] "mon" FALSE 812 [1] "year" FALSE 812 [1] "wday" FALSE 812 [1] "yday" FALSE 812 [1] "isdst" FALSE 812 Additionally, there are no NA values in any component of dob on direct visual inspection. For example, here is dob$mon dob$mon [1] 6 6 6 6 2 2 2 7 7 7 7 3 3 3 3 11 11 11 11 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 11 11 11 11 7 7 7 7 11 11 11 11 6 6 6 6 9 9 9 9 3 3 3 3 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 4 4 4 4 4 [77] 4 4 4 7 7 7 7 10 10 11 11 11 11 8 8 8 8 0 0 0 0 0 10 10 10 7 7 7 7 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 11 11 11 11 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 [153] 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 6 6 10 10 10 10 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 3 3 3 5 5 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 6 6 6 6 0 0 0 0 3 3 3 3 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 7 [229] 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 4 4 4 4 10 10 10 10 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 2 8 8 8 8 11 11 11 11 8 8 8 8 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 8 8 8 8 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 [305] 1 1 1 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 7 7 7 7 5 5 5 5 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 3 3 6 6 6 6 3 3 3 5 5 11 11 11 5 5 5 5 0 0 0 0 10 10 10 10 4 4 4 4 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 4 4 4 4 1 [381] 1 1 1 7 7 7 7 3 3 3 3 7 7 7 7 5 5 5 5 9 9 9 9 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10 0 0 0 0 5 5 5 5 3 3 3 3 7 7 7 7 0 0 0 0 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 3 3 3 3 5 5 5 5 10 10 10 10 3 [457] 3 3 3 8 8 8 8 0 0 0 0 11 11 11 11 2 2 2 2 7 7 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 5 5 5 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 5 5 5 5 9 9 9 9 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 11 11 11 11 3 3 3 3 6 6 6 6 [533] 3 3 3 3 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 8 11 11 11 11 6 6 6 6 3 3 3 3 10 10 10 8 8 8 0 0 0 [609] 0 3 3 3 3 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 3 3 5 5 5 5 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 10 10 10 10 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 6 6 6 6 4 4 4 4 11 11 11 11 0 0 0 0 11 11 11 11 [685] 5 5 5 5 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 3 3 3 3 5 5 5 5 11 11 11 11 3 3 3 9 9 5 5 5 5 8 8 8 8 2 2 2 2 5 5 5 5 2 2 2 2 10 10 10 10 4 4 4 11 11 11 11 8 8 8 9 9 9 1 1 1 1 8 8 [761] 8 8 2 2 2 11 11 11 11 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 6 6 6 6 11 11 11 11 2 2 2 11 11 11 9 9 9 9 2 2 2 2 7 7 7 7 11 11 11 2 2 2 3 3 3 All the dob components are equally complete, including isdst. However, when I then try to compute difftime(sdate,dob), 69 values are missing:- Time differences in days [1] 28899.00 28899.00 28899.00 28899.00 29369.96 29369.96 29369.96 27120.04 27120.04 27120.04 27120.04 22690.00 22690.00 22690.00 22690.00 28905.00 28905.00 28905.00 28905.00 31207.04 31207.04 31207.04 31207.04 31209.04 31209.04 [26] 31209.04 31209.04 26323.00 26323.00 26323.00 26323.00 26338.00 26338.00 26338.00 26338.00 27310.96 27310.96 27310.96 27310.96 23588.04 23588.04 23588.04 23588.04 25255.00 25255.00 25255.00 25255.00 23752.00 23752.00 23752.00 [51] 23752.00 29607.04 29607.04 29607.04 29607.04 27993.04 27993.04 27993.04 27993.04 28384.04 28384.04 28384.04 28384.04 26176.00 26176.00 26176.00 26176.00 28986.04 28986.04 28986.04 28986.04 28689.04 28689.04 28689.04 28689.04 [76] 23722.00 23722.00 23722.00 23722.00 27353.00 27353.00 27353.00 27353.00 26303.00 26303.00 28803.96 28803.96 28803.96 28803.96 28564.04 28564.04 28564.04 28564.04 29826.96 29826.96 29826.96 29826.96 29826.96 30410.00 30410.00 [101] 30410.00 26490.04 26490.04 26490.04 26490.04 NA NA NA NA 29765.96 29765.96 29765.96 29765.96 29765.96 26325.00 26325.00 26325.00 26325.00 26325.00 28824.00 28824.00 28824.00 28824.00 26808.00 26808.00 [126] 26808.00 26808.00 26808.00 28628.96 28628.96 28628.96 28628.96 23807.00 23807.00 23807.00 23807.00 23807.00 NA NA NA NA NA 25668.04 25668.04 25668.04 25668.04 28654.04 28654.04 28654.04 28654.04 [151] 21711.04 21711.04 21711.04 21711.04 27167.04 27167.04 27167.04 27167.04 24296.04 24296.04 24296.04 24296.04 30540.04 30540.04 25330.00 25330.00 25330.00 25330.00 25579.00 25579.00 25579.00 25579.00 29127.04 29127.04 29127.04 [176] 29127.04 29896.96 29896.96 29896.96 29896.96 25992.00 25992.00 25992.00 25992.00 26625.00 26625.00 26625.00 26625.00 30121.04 30121.04 30121.04 30121.04 21801.04 21801.04 21801.04 21801.04 31274.04 31274.04 25907.00 25907.00 [201] 25907.00 25907.00 28516.00 28516.00 28516.00 28516.00 28943.00 28943.00 28943.00 28943.00 29847.96 29847.96 29847.96 29847.96 30529.04 30529.04 30529.04 30529.04 30527.04 30527.04 30527.04 30527.04 29434.00 29434.00 29434.00 [226] 29434.00 29434.00 28631.04 28631.04 28631.04 28631.04 25761.04 25761.04 25761.04 25761.04 25761.04 26127.04 26127.04 26127.04 26127.04 26027.00 26027.00 26027.00 26027.00 28987.00 28987.00 28987.00 28987.00 29232.00 29232.00 [251] 29232.00 29232.00 26109.96 26109.96 26109.96 26109.96 31339.00 31339.00 29235.00 29235.00 29235.00 29235.00 28092.00 28092.00 28092.00 28092.00 30209.00 30209.00 30209.00 30209.00 30209.00 30281.00 30281.00 30281.00 30281.00 [276] 26880.96 26880.96 26880.96 26880.96 25691.04 25691.04 25691.04 25691.04 22938.04 22938.04 22938.04 22938.04 25878.00 25878.00 25878.00 25878.00 24470.00 24470.00 24470.00 24470.00 26046.96 26046.96 26046.96 26046.96 26763.96 [301] 26763.96 26763.96 26763.96 25720.96 25720.96 25720.96 25720.96 29214.00 29214.00 29214.00 29214.00 26992.00 26992.00 26992.00 26992.00 30659.00 30659.00 30659.00 30659.00 25600.00 25600.00 25600.00 25600.00 26842.00 26842.00 [326] 26842.00 26842.00 25541.00 25541.00 25541.00 25541.00 27386.00 27386.00 27386.00 27386.00 30302.04 30302.04 30302.04 30302.04 28059.00 28059.00 28059.00 28059.00 NA NA NA 25657.00 25657.00 NA NA [351] NA 24835.00 24835.00 24835.00 24835.00 29340.96 29340.96 29340.96 29340.96 26473.96 26473.96 26473.96 26473.96 28873.00 28873.00 28873.00 28873.00 27690.00 27690.00 27690.00 27690.00 26554.00 26554.00 26554.00 26554.00 [376] 28876.00 28876.00 28876.00 28876.00 27156.96 27156.96 27156.96 27156.96 26577.00 26577.00 26577.00 26577.00 27471.00 27471.00 27471.00 27471.00 27323.00 27323.00 27323.00 27323.00 29232.00 29232.00 29232.00 29232.00 NA [401] NA NA NA 26523.96 26523.96 26523.96 26523.96 26538.96 26538.96 26538.96 26538.96 24374.96 24374.96 24374.96 24374.96 30798.00 30798.00 30798.00 30798.00 NA NA NA NA 22775.04 22775.04 [426] 22775.04 22775.04 28464.00 28464.00 28464.00 28464.00 25763.04 25763.04 25763.04 25763.04 30114.04 30114.04 30114.04 30114.04 26864.04 26864.04 26864.04 26864.04 NA NA NA NA 26945.04 26945.04 26945.04 [451] 26945.04 29528.96 29528.96 29528.96 29528.96 29058.04 29058.04 29058.04 29058.04 29456.00 29456.00 29456.00 29456.00 26450.96 26450.96 26450.96 26450.96 22837.96 22837.96 22837.96 22837.96 24222.96 24222.96 24222.96 24222.96 [476] 29592.00 29592.00 29592.00 29592.00 26573.00 26573.00 26573.00 26573.00 26573.00 24811.00 24811.00 24811.00 24811.00 24834.00 24834.00 24834.00 24834.00 31312.00 31312.00 31312.00 31312.00 23337.00 23337.00 23337.00 23337.00 [501] 26422.00 26422.00 26422.00 26422.00 22664.04 22664.04 22664.04 22664.04 23192.04 23192.04 23192.04 23192.04 27557.04 27557.04 27557.04 27557.04 23449.04 23449.04 23449.04 23449.04 27799.00 27799.00 27799.00 27799.00 28747.04 [526] 28747.04 28747.04 28747.04 24660.04 24660.04 24660.04 24660.04 NA NA NA NA 24683.04 24683.04 24683.04 24683.04 26576.00 26576.00 26576.00 26576.00 NA NA NA NA 28897.96 28897.96 [551] 28897.96 28897.96 25997.96 25997.96 25997.96 25997.96 24594.96 24594.96 24594.96 24594.96 25965.00 25965.00 25965.00 30139.04 30139.04 30139.04 26104.04 26104.04 26104.04 26104.04 26255.04 26255.04 26255.04 26255.04 28887.00 [576] 28887.00 28887.00 28887.00 28887.00 NA NA NA NA 25470.00 25470.00 25470.00 25470.00 20677.96 20677.96 20677.96 20677.96 29227.00 29227.00 29227.00 29227.00 NA NA NA NA 29543.96 [601] 29543.96 29543.96 31080.00 31080.00 31080.00 27710.00 27710.00 27710.00 27710.00 NA NA NA NA NA 29903.00 29903.00 29903.00 29903.00 NA NA NA NA 24147.00 24147.00 24147.00 [626] 24147.00 23316.96 23316.96 23316.96 23316.96 27096.00 27096.00 27096.00 27096.00 25543.00 25543.00 25543.00 25543.00 25543.00 NA NA NA NA 25131.04 25131.04 25131.04 29565.96 29565.96 29565.96 29565.96 [651] 28070.00 28070.00 28070.00 28070.00 28774.04 28774.04 28774.04 28774.04 28073.00 28073.00 28130.00 28130.00 28130.00 28130.00 20038.00 20038.00 20038.00 20038.00 27298.04 27298.04 27298.04 27298.04 27793.00 27793.00 27793.00 [676] 27793.00 25586.00 25586.00 25586.00 25586.00 26000.00 26000.00 26000.00 26000.00 30577.04 30577.04 30577.04 30577.04 27194.04 27194.04 27194.04 27194.04 23156.04 23156.04 23156.04 23156.04 23978.04 23978.04 23978.04 23978.04 [701] NA NA NA NA 24391.00 24391.00 24391.00 24391.00 27152.96 27152.96 27152.96 27152.96 28852.00 28852.00 28852.00 25419.00 25419.00 29212.00 29212.00 29212.00 29212.00 23660.00 23660.00 23660.00 23660.00 [726] 26022.96 26022.96 26022.96 26022.96 25566.00 25566.00 25566.00 25566.00 25336.96 25336.96 25336.96 25336.96 26931.96 26931.96 26931.96 26931.96 26758.00 26758.00 26758.00 26537.96 26537.96 26537.96 26537.96 27026.00 27026.00 [751] 27026.00 NA NA NA 24349.96 24349.96 24349.96 24349.96 25960.00 25960.00 25960.00 25960.00 27276.00 27276.00 27276.00 26826.96 26826.96 26826.96 26826.96 26428.96 26428.96 26428.96 26428.96 26780.96 26780.96 [776] 26780.96 26780.96 26301.00 26301.00 26301.00 26301.00 28385.96 28385.96 28385.96 28385.96 27210.96 27210.96 27210.96 23704.00 23704.00 23704.00 24160.04 24160.04 24160.04 24160.04 25703.96 25703.96 25703.96 25703.96 25269.00 [801] 25269.00 25269.00 25269.00 29886.96 29886.96 29886.96 NA NA NA NA NA NA attr(,"tzone") [1] "" Here are the values of sdate and dob that relate to the missing values in difftime(sdate,dob) > sdate[is.na(difftime(sdate,dob))] [1] "2002-02-28" "2002-02-28" "2002-02-28" "2002-02-28" "2002-07-30" "2002-07-30" "2002-07-30" "2002-07-30" "2002-07-30" "2003-06-17" "2003-06-17" "2003-06-17" "2003-10-30" "2003-10-30" "2003-10-30" "2002-07-22" "2002-07-22" [18] "2002-07-22" "2002-07-22" "2002-12-18" "2002-12-18" "2002-12-18" "2002-12-18" "2003-03-10" "2003-03-10" "2003-03-10" "2003-03-10" "2003-02-05" "2003-02-05" "2003-02-05" "2003-02-05" "2003-03-19" "2003-03-19" "2003-03-19" [35] "2003-03-19" "2003-05-29" "2003-05-29" "2003-05-29" "2003-05-29" "2003-08-13" "2003-08-13" "2003-08-13" "2003-08-13" "2003-11-03" "2003-11-03" "2003-11-03" "2003-11-03" "2003-11-03" "2002-06-25" "2002-06-25" "2002-06-25" [52] "2002-06-25" "2003-04-10" "2003-04-10" "2003-04-10" "2003-04-10" "2003-04-03" "2003-04-03" "2003-04-03" "2003-04-03" "2003-10-15" "2003-10-15" "2003-10-15" "2003-11-21" "2003-11-21" "2003-11-21" "2003-12-04" "2003-12-04" [69] "2003-12-04" > dob[is.na(difftime(sdate,dob))] [1] "1927-04-03" "1927-04-03" "1927-04-03" "1927-04-03" "1925-04-11" "1925-04-11" "1925-04-11" "1925-04-11" "1925-04-11" "1939-04-03" "1939-04-03" "1939-04-03" "1940-12-30" "1940-12-30" "1940-12-30" "1917-10-14" "1917-10-14" [18] "1917-10-14" "1917-10-14" "1925-04-16" "1925-04-16" "1925-04-16" "1925-04-16" "1927-04-05" "1927-04-05" "1927-04-05" "1927-04-05" "1939-04-08" "1939-04-08" "1939-04-08" "1939-04-08" "1938-10-24" "1938-10-24" "1938-10-24" [35] "1938-10-24" "1930-10-16" "1930-10-16" "1930-10-16" "1930-10-16" "1923-04-17" "1923-04-17" "1923-04-17" "1923-04-17" "1929-04-17" "1929-04-17" "1929-04-17" "1929-04-17" "1929-04-17" "1925-04-11" "1925-04-11" "1925-04-11" [52] "1925-04-11" "1931-04-02" "1931-04-02" "1931-04-02" "1931-04-02" "1929-04-18" "1929-04-18" "1929-04-18" "1929-04-18" "1917-10-22" "1917-10-22" "1917-10-22" "1928-03-28" "1928-03-28" "1928-03-28" "1928-04-09" "1928-04-09" [69] "1928-04-09" The values of dob here do not differ in any obvious way from those in the rest of the dob vector, where difftime(sdate,sob) gives sensible results. If I try to recompute the difftime, the result is the same. s1=sdate[is.na(difftime(sdate,dob))] d1=dob[is.na(difftime(sdate,dob))] difftime(s1,d1) Time differences in secs [1] NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA attr(,"tzone") [1] "" However, if I now create the first value of each missing vector manually, then difftime works:- js1=strptime('2002-02-28','%Y-%m-%d'); js1 #[1] "2002-02-28" jb1=strptime('1927-04-03','%Y-%m-%d'); jb1 #[1] "1927-04-03" difftime(js1,jb1) #Time difference of 27360 days So, it appears that strptime is handling these values differently in the vector, but manages them correctly one by one. I'm sorry if I'm being silly, but I can't see the problem. I'd be VERY grateful if someone could help me to find it and fix it. With many thanks in advance for your thoughts, Jonathan Williams ______________________________________________ R-help@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.