MQL5 Datetime Guide: TimeToString, TimeToStruct & Session Filter Code

//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//|                                                DatetimeGuide.mq5 |
//|                             Copyright 2026, Pineify Guides Series |
//|                                              https://pineify.app |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
#property copyright "Pineify Guides Series"
#property link      "https://pineify.app/mql5/datetime-guide"
#property version   "1.00"
#property script_show_inputs

//--- Input parameters
input int InpSessionStartHour = 9;   // Session Start Hour (0-23)
input int InpSessionEndHour   = 17;  // Session End Hour (0-23)

//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//| Helper: Check if current server time is in trading session       |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
bool IsInTradingSession(datetime serverTime, int startHour, int endHour)
  {
   if(startHour<0 || startHour>23 || endHour<0 || endHour>23 || startHour==endHour) return false;
   MqlDateTime dt;
   if(!TimeToStruct(serverTime, dt)) return false;

   // Skip weekends (0 = Sunday, 6 = Saturday)
   if(dt.day_of_week == 0 || dt.day_of_week == 6)
      return false;

   // Check hour window
   if(startHour<endHour) return dt.hour>=startHour && dt.hour<endHour;
   return dt.hour>=startHour || dt.hour<endHour;
  }

//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
//| Script program start function                                    |
//+------------------------------------------------------------------+
void OnStart()
  {
   // 1. Current Datetime Functions
   datetime serverNow = TimeCurrent();       // Latest quote time on server
   datetime localNow  = TimeLocal();         // Local computer time
   datetime gmtNow    = TimeGMT();           // GMT / UTC time

   Print("--- Current Timestamps ---");
   Print("TimeCurrent(): ", TimeToString(serverNow, TIME_DATE|TIME_SECONDS));
   Print("TimeLocal():   ", TimeToString(localNow, TIME_DATE|TIME_SECONDS));
   Print("TimeGMT():     ", TimeToString(gmtNow, TIME_DATE|TIME_SECONDS));

   // 2. Extract Hour, Minute, Day with TimeToStruct
   MqlDateTime dt;
   if(!TimeToStruct(serverNow, dt)) { Print("Cannot unpack server time"); return; }
   PrintFormat("Unpacked Date -> Year: %d, Month: %02d, Day: %02d | Hour: %02d:%02d:%02d (Day of week: %d)",
               dt.year, dt.mon, dt.day, dt.hour, dt.min, dt.sec, dt.day_of_week);

   // 3. Datetime Arithmetic
   datetime tomorrow    = serverNow + 86400;           // Add 1 day
   datetime nextHour    = serverNow + 3600;            // Add 1 hour
   datetime weekAgo     = serverNow - (7 * 86400);     // Subtract 7 days

   Print("--- Date Arithmetic ---");
   Print("Plus 1 Day:  ", TimeToString(tomorrow, TIME_DATE|TIME_MINUTES));
   Print("Plus 1 Hour: ", TimeToString(nextHour, TIME_DATE|TIME_MINUTES));
   Print("Minus 7 Days:", TimeToString(weekAgo, TIME_DATE|TIME_MINUTES));

   // Calculate elapsed time between two timestamps
   long elapsedSeconds = (long)(tomorrow - serverNow);
   PrintFormat("Elapsed difference: %I64d seconds (%I64d hours)",
               elapsedSeconds, elapsedSeconds / 3600);

   // 4. Session Filter Test
   bool sessionActive = IsInTradingSession(serverNow, InpSessionStartHour, InpSessionEndHour);
   PrintFormat("Session active [%d:00 - %d:00]? %s",
               InpSessionStartHour, InpSessionEndHour,
               sessionActive ? "YES (Hour Policy Matches)" : "NO (Hour Policy Does Not Match)");
  }