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Defines a clock type to be used by the suite, and specifies the clock gain factor. Only suites can have a clock. A clock always runs in phase with the system clock (UTC in UNIX) but can have an offset from the system clock. ecFlow generates variables from the current time.


The clock must be either hybrid or real. Under a hybrid clock, the date never changes unless specifically altered or unless the suite restarts, either automatically or from a begin command. Under a real clock, the date advances by one day at midnight. Time and date dependencies work a little differently under the two clocks. The default clock type is real.


Clock gain is expressed in seconds and can be given as an integer, a time or a date. Seconds and time can have a sign:

 clock real 300              # the clock gains 300 sec from now
 clock real +01:00           # the clock gains 3600 sec from now
 clock real 01:00            # clock is 01:00 in the morning
 clock real 20.1.2012        # many days late but H:M is ok
 clock real 20.1.2012 +01:00 # many days late, time gains a hour


The clock can only be modified using alter command, e.g.

ecflow_client –-alter=change clock_type real /suite