Format Time Ago Function - Time Differences in TypeScript

Ala GARBAA — Sat, 03 Feb 2024 18:23:00 +0000

Function Explanation

The following TypeScript function, formatTimeAgo, is designed to format a given date or string into a human-readable "time ago" format.
The function calculates the time difference between the provided date and the current date, presenting the result in terms of years, months, days, hours, minutes, or seconds.



export function formatTimeAgo(date: Date | string): string {

    // Initialize a default date as the current date
    let _date: Date = new Date();

    // Check if the input is a string and convert it to a Date object
    if (typeof date === "string") {
        _date = new Date(date)
    } else {
        _date = date
    }

    // Calculate the time difference in seconds
    const seconds: number = Math.floor((new Date().getTime() - _date.getTime()) / 1000);

    // Define intervals for different time units in seconds
    const intervals: Record<string, number> = {
        year: 31536000,
        month: 2628000,
        day: 86400,
        hour: 3600,
        minute: 60,
    };

    // Iterate through the intervals and determine the appropriate unit
    for (const [unit, secondsInUnit] of Object.entries(intervals)) {
        const interval: number = Math.floor(seconds / secondsInUnit);
        if (interval > 1) {
            return `${interval} ${unit}s ago`;
        } else if (interval === 1) {
            return `${interval} ${unit} ago`;
        }
    }

    // If no larger unit is found, return "just now"
    return "just now";
}

DEV Community: Ala GARBAA

Format Time Ago Function - Time Differences in TypeScript

Function Explanation