From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: joakim@verona.se Subject: Re: Why don't datetrees use timestamps? Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2015 17:21:50 +0100 Message-ID: References: <0947dbf0de284ed3b162708f1105b8c5@fcmailsvr2.familycareinc.org> <87oansfo02.fsf@alphaville.usersys.redhat.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Return-path: Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:55923) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1YYGjQ-000335-6T for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Wed, 18 Mar 2015 12:22:09 -0400 Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1YYGjM-0007fi-VD for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Wed, 18 Mar 2015 12:22:08 -0400 Received: from plane.gmane.org ([80.91.229.3]:41693) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1YYGjM-0007fS-Ok for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Wed, 18 Mar 2015 12:22:04 -0400 Received: from list by plane.gmane.org with local (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1YYGjK-0004yo-Vh for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Wed, 18 Mar 2015 17:22:03 +0100 Received: from h-235-62.a149.priv.bahnhof.se ([85.24.235.62]) by main.gmane.org with esmtp (Gmexim 0.1 (Debian)) id 1AlnuQ-0007hv-00 for ; Wed, 18 Mar 2015 17:22:02 +0100 Received: from joakim by h-235-62.a149.priv.bahnhof.se with local (Gmexim 0.1 (Debian)) id 1AlnuQ-0007hv-00 for ; Wed, 18 Mar 2015 17:22:02 +0100 List-Id: "General discussions about Org-mode." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: emacs-orgmode-bounces+geo-emacs-orgmode=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sender: emacs-orgmode-bounces+geo-emacs-orgmode=m.gmane.org@gnu.org To: emacs-orgmode@gnu.org Nick Dokos writes: D> Reuben Thomas writes: > >> On 16 March 2015 at 16:52, Subhan Michael Tindall wrote: >> >> You can use a custom capture template and have timestamps of various sorts inserted. >> >> For example, I have one datetree I use that inserts a date/time stamp using %T (%t gives only date, not time) >> >> See the documentation for capture (hit C-c C C  to get into the customize interface then scroll down) >> >> ​ My question was about the datetree entry headings of the form "2015-03-16 Monday". These aren't controlled by the template. I was interested to know why these >> headings look very much like timestamps (and effectively are timestamps, though at the top level they mention just a year and at the second level just a year and a >> month), but aren't actual timestamps. >> >> Eric Fraga said "I don't think it would make sense for the headlines in the date-tree to have time stamps"; but my question is not why they don't have time stamps, >> but why they ARE not time stamps (purely in the formal sense: the information they contain is already effectively a time stamp, as far as I can see). >> > > This is third-hand knowledge and guesswork on my part, but I think that > datetrees are used for things like journals: "that's what I did that > day". Datetrees just give you a hierarchical structure of nodes for > easy navigation: you can look at your journal and open and close nodes > at will, so you can navigate to the date of interest. The fact that the > third-level headings look like timestamps is purely coincidental. > > Timestamps are given to things that are going to appear in an agenda: > "that's what I have to do today, tomorrow or next week". They are > completely orthogonal to datetrees in that respect. > > The stuff that ends up in your journal is stuff that (mostly) did not > appear in the agenda: all the little things that you did that day, > probably unplanned (otherwise they would be in the agenda!) > > Not that the headings in a datetree couldn't be made into timestamps; > but that's not what people use datetrees for[fn:1]. The one thing that > would be facilitated if they *were* timestamps, would be clicking on one > and getting the day agenda for that long-gone day, so you could > reminisce about the other things that you did that day, that did not end > up in your journal. Maybe that's enough reason to make them > timestamps, but there are other (perhaps less convenient) ways > to do that. > > Of course, I may be suffering from a failure of imagination: you might > be using datetrees in a completely different way, one where having the > heading be a timestamp is a very good idea, but I can't think of any: > if you *have* something in mind, do tell. I often feel the same thing, that datetrees should use timestamps(the 'quiet' kind). The main reason is that I often write a journal entry the day after, and it would be easier to manipulate the date like you do a time stamp. > >> I was hoping to discover the rationale for the design from a developer :) > > You'll have to ask Carsten about it: he invented datetrees I believe (as > well as most of org), but he does not frequent org circles much these > days. > > Footnotes: > > [fn:1] Remember however my caveat about third-hand knowledge and > guesswork: I don't use datetrees. > > Nick > > > -- Joakim Verona