The Interplay of Time Point, Time Duration, and Clock
- Time point
- The time point is given by its starting point - the so-called epoch - and the time that has elapsed since the epoch (expressed as a time duration).”
- Time duration
- The time duration is the difference between two time points. It is measured in the number of time ticks.
- Clock
- The clock consists of a starting point and a time tick. This information enables you to calculate the current time.
You can compare time points. When you add a time duration to a time point, you get a new time point. The time tick is the accuracy of the clock in which you measure the time duration. The birth of Jesus is in my culture the starting time point and a year is a typical time tick.
I illustrate the three concepts using the lifetime of Dennis Ritchie. The creator of C who died in 2011. For the sake of simplicity, I’m only interested in the years.
Here is the lifetime.
