Table of Contents

Introduction

Dates, times and datetimes

Points and Intervals

Temporal Properties

Situating Points on the Timeline

Defining Intervals using two Points

Defining Intervals using two Times

Temporal Queries

Relations between two Points

Relations between Points and Datetimes

Relations between Points and Intervals

Relations between Intervals and Datetimes

Relations between two Intervals

Relations between an Interval and a Datetime Range

Relations between Datetimes specified by Property and Subject

Introduction

This tutorial provides an introduction to the temporal features that are available in AllegroGraph. We cover temporal points, temporal intervals, and how to locate each of these on a one-dimensional timeline. We provide a number of example queries demonstrating the supported temporal relations involving points, intervals and datetimes.

First, let's create a triple store and register namespaces for the tutorial. We will also use enable-!-reader to make it easier to type URIs. For more details on getting up and running with AllegroGraph, see the Quick Start. Note that you will need to have the AllegroGraph server running. See if installation guide for more details. 

(enable-!-reader)  
(enable-print-decoded t)     
(register-namespace "ex" "http://example.org/")  
(register-namespace "t" "http://franz.com/ns/allegrograph/3.0/temporal/")  
 
(create-triple-store "temporal-tutorial.db")

Dates, times and datetimes

AllegroGraph supports strings in ISO 8601 format and provides functions for converting to and from encoded :date-time UPIs for efficient storage.

date-string-to-upi iso8601-string  &optional  upi
function

Converts an ISO8601 date string to a :date-time UPI. Values not included in the string are set to zero with the exception of the timezone which defaults to whatever is current for the application.

Returns nil if the string cannot be converted.

date-thing-to-upi input
function
Takes as input a :date-time upi, an ISO8601 date string, or a number for universal time and returns the corresponding :date-time upi
upi-to-date-string upi
function

Converts a :date-time upi to an ISO8601 date string.

The string representation uses the current timezone. For examples, 

;; in Seattle  
> (upi-to-date-string (date-string-to-upi "2009-01-01T04:30-08:00"))  
"2009-01-01T04:30:00-08:00"  
 
;; in New York  
> (upi-to-date-string (date-string-to-upi "2009-01-01T04:30-08:00"))  
"2008-12-31T19:00:00-05:00"
upi-to-date-time upi
function
Converts a :date-time upi to a util.date-time:date-time object 
Example: Convert from an ISO8601 date string to a :date-time UPI and back.  
 
> (date-string-to-upi "2008-02-01")  
{3410841600}  
 
> (upi-to-date-string *)  
"2008-02-01T00:00:00-08:00"  
 
> (date-string-to-upi "2008-02-01T00:00:00-08:00")  
{3410841600}

Points and Intervals

AllegroGraph supports Allen's temporal points and intervals. Points are an abstraction used to label moments such as "the moment John arrived". Points exist independently of time, but can be positioned on a timeline if a time is known. Intervals are another abstraction used to label a time period such as "Easter weekend, 2008"; these also exist independently of time but can be positioned on a timeline.

Temporal Properties

AllegroGraph supports the following temporal properties:

A Point is positioned on the timeline using the above time properties. Anything having the time property is a Point.

An Interval can be defined by specifying its startpoint and endpoint.
Intervals can be positioned on the timeline by positioning their start and end points using the time property, or they can be positioned using the starttime and endtime properties. Anything having a startpoint, endpoint, starttime, or endtime property is an Interval.

In the following sections we provide examples for using these properties.

Situating Points on the Timeline

Use the t:time property to position a point on the timeline. The value must be a :date-time UPI. 

;; situate 8 points on the timeline, each 1 day apart  
(add-triple !ex:pt1 !t:time (date-string-to-upi "2008-02-01"))  
(add-triple !ex:pt2 !t:time (date-string-to-upi "2008-02-02"))  
(add-triple !ex:pt3 !t:time (date-string-to-upi "2008-02-03"))  
(add-triple !ex:pt4 !t:time (date-string-to-upi "2008-02-04"))  
(add-triple !ex:pt5 !t:time (date-string-to-upi "2008-02-05"))  
(add-triple !ex:pt6 !t:time (date-string-to-upi "2008-02-06"))  
(add-triple !ex:pt7 !t:time (date-string-to-upi "2008-02-07"))  
(add-triple !ex:pt8 !t:time (date-string-to-upi "2008-02-08"))

Defining Intervals using two Points

Use the t:startpoint and t:endpoint properties to associate points with an interval's start and end points.

Here we define a number of intervals in terms of the 8 points that were defined in the section above. 

;; add all intervals starting at pt1  
(add-triple !ex:i12 !t:startpoint !ex:pt1)  
(add-triple !ex:i12 !t:endpoint !ex:pt2)  
 
(add-triple !ex:i13 !t:startpoint !ex:pt1)  
(add-triple !ex:i13 !t:endpoint !ex:pt3)  
 
(add-triple !ex:i14 !t:startpoint !ex:pt1)  
(add-triple !ex:i14 !t:endpoint !ex:pt4)  
 
(add-triple !ex:i15 !t:startpoint !ex:pt1)  
(add-triple !ex:i15 !t:endpoint !ex:pt5)  
 
(add-triple !ex:i16 !t:startpoint !ex:pt1)  
(add-triple !ex:i16 !t:endpoint !ex:pt6)  
 
(add-triple !ex:i17 !t:startpoint !ex:pt1)  
(add-triple !ex:i17 !t:endpoint !ex:pt7)  
 
(add-triple !ex:i18 !t:startpoint !ex:pt1)  
(add-triple !ex:i18 !t:endpoint !ex:pt8)  
 
;; add a few intervals in the middle  
(add-triple !ex:i45 !t:startpoint !ex:pt4)  
(add-triple !ex:i45 !t:endpoint !ex:pt5)  
 
(add-triple !ex:i36 !t:startpoint !ex:pt3)  
(add-triple !ex:i36 !t:endpoint !ex:pt6)  
 
(add-triple !ex:i27 !t:startpoint !ex:pt2)  
(add-triple !ex:i27 !t:endpoint !ex:pt7)  
 
;; add all other intervals ending at pt8  
(add-triple !ex:i28 !t:startpoint !ex:pt2)  
(add-triple !ex:i28 !t:endpoint !ex:pt8)  
 
(add-triple !ex:i38 !t:startpoint !ex:pt3)  
(add-triple !ex:i38 !t:endpoint !ex:pt8)  
 
(add-triple !ex:i48 !t:startpoint !ex:pt4)  
(add-triple !ex:i48 !t:endpoint !ex:pt8)  
 
(add-triple !ex:i58 !t:startpoint !ex:pt5)  
(add-triple !ex:i58 !t:endpoint !ex:pt8)  
 
(add-triple !ex:i68 !t:startpoint !ex:pt6)  
(add-triple !ex:i68 !t:endpoint !ex:pt8)  
 
(add-triple !ex:i78 !t:startpoint !ex:pt7)  
(add-triple !ex:i78 !t:endpoint !ex:pt8)

Defining Intervals using two Times

Because they have startpoints and endpoints that are themselves situated the intervals above are already indirectly situated on a timeline. Below we show how to situate an interval on the timeline directly, using the t:starttime and t:endtime properties. 

;; add starttime triples for the above intervals  
(dolist (pair (select0-distinct (?i ?upi)  
                (q ?i !t:startpoint ?pt)  
                (q ?pt !t:time ?upi)))  
  (add-triple (first pair) !t:starttime (second pair)))  
 
;; add endtime triples for the above intervals  
(dolist (pair (select0-distinct (?i ?upi)  
                (q ?i !t:endpoint ?pt)  
                (q ?pt !t:time ?upi)))  
  (add-triple (first pair) !t:endtime (second pair)))

Temporal Queries

Given a triple store containing information about datetimes, points, and intervals, AllegroGraph provides a number of Prolog functors for specifying temporal constraints in select queries. (See the Prolog tutorial for more details on querying AllegroGraph using Prolog).

This documentation uses the usual Prolog argument notation. A + prefix on an argument indicates that is must be supplied (it is input to the predicate), a - prefix indicates the argument is output and must not be supplied, and a ± prefix indicates the argument may be either.

In the examples that follow we will use the triple store that was defined in the preceding sections as the basis for demonstrating a number of temporal queries.

Relations between two Points

There are 3 ways that two points can be related.

point-before
(point-before ±pt1 ±pt2)
functor
Point ?pt1 is before point ?pt2 on the timeline. 
Example: select all points that are before ex:pt3.  
 
> (select0 (?pt)  
    (point-before ?pt !ex:pt3))  
(({pt1}) ({pt2}))  
t  
 
Example: select all points that ex:pt3 is before.  
 
> (select0 (?pt)  
    (point-before !ex:pt3 ?pt))  
(({pt4}) ({pt5}) ({pt6}) ({pt7}) ({pt8}))  
t
point-simultaneous
(point-simultaneous ±pt1 ±pt2)
functor
Point ?pt1 is simultaneous with point ?pt2 on the timeline. 
Example: select all points that are simultaneous with ex:pt3.  
 
> (select0 (?pt)  
    (point-simultaneous ?pt !ex:pt3))  
(({pt3}))  
t
point-after
(point-after ±pt1 ±pt2)
functor
Point ?pt1 is after point ?pt2 on the timeline. 
Example: select all points that are after ex:pt6.  
 
> (select0 (?pt)  
    (point-after ?pt !ex:pt6))  
(({pt7}) ({pt8}))  
t  
 
Example: select all points that ex:pt6 is after.  
 
> (select0 (?pt)  
    (point-after !ex:pt6 ?pt))  
(({pt1}) ({pt2}) ({pt3}) ({pt4}) ({pt5}))  
t

Relations between Points and Datetimes

There are 3 ways to relate a Point and a Datetime.

point-before-datetime
(point-before-datetime ±pt ±dt)
functor
Point ?pt is before the datetime ?dt on the timeline. 
> (select0 (?pt)  
    (point-before-datetime ?pt "2008-02-03"))  
(({pt1}) ({pt2}))  
t  
 
> (select0 (?dt)  
    (point-before-datetime !ex:pt5 ?upi)  
    (upi-to-date-string ?upi ?dt))  
(("2008-02-06T00:00:00-08:00") ("2008-02-07T00:00:00-08:00") ("2008-02-08T00:00:00-08:00"))  
t
point-datetime
(point-datetime ±pt ±dt)
functor
Point ?pt is simultaneous with the datetime ?dt on the timeline. 
> (select0 (?pt)  
    (point-datetime ?pt "2008-02-03"))  
(({pt3}))  
t  
 
> (select0 (?dt)  
    (point-datetime !ex:pt5 ?upi)  
    (upi-to-date-string ?upi ?dt))  
(("2008-02-05T00:00:00-08:00"))  
t  
 
> (select0 (?pt ?upi)  
    (point-datetime ?pt ?upi))  
(({pt1} {3410841600}) ({pt2} {3410928000}) ({pt3} {3411014400}) ({pt4} {3411100800})  
 ({pt5} {3411187200}) ({pt6} {3411273600}) ({pt7} {3411360000}) ({pt8} {3411446400}))  
t  
 
> (select0 (?pt ?dt)  
    (point-datetime ?pt ?upi)  
    (upi-to-date-string ?upi ?dt))  
(({pt1} "2008-02-01T00:00:00-08:00") ({pt2} "2008-02-02T00:00:00-08:00")  
 ({pt3} "2008-02-03T00:00:00-08:00") ({pt4} "2008-02-04T00:00:00-08:00")  
 ({pt5} "2008-02-05T00:00:00-08:00") ({pt6} "2008-02-06T00:00:00-08:00")  
 ({pt7} "2008-02-07T00:00:00-08:00") ({pt8} "2008-02-08T00:00:00-08:00"))  
t
point-after-datetime
(point-after-datetime ±pt ±dt)
functor
Point ?pt is after the datetime ?dt on the timeline. 
> (select0 (?pt)  
    (point-after-datetime ?pt "2008-02-03"))  
(({pt4}) ({pt5}) ({pt6}) ({pt7}) ({pt8}))  
t  
> (select0 (?dt)  
    (point-after-datetime !ex:pt5 ?upi)  
    (upi-to-date-string ?upi ?dt))  
(("2008-02-01T00:00:00-08:00") ("2008-02-02T00:00:00-08:00") ("2008-02-03T00:00:00-08:00")  
 ("2008-02-04T00:00:00-08:00"))  
t

Relations between Points and Intervals

There are 5 ways to position a point relative to an interval.

point-before-interval
(point-before-interval ±pt ±i)
functor
Point ?pt is before the startpoint of interval ?i. 
> (select0 (?pt)  
    (point-before-interval ?pt !ex:i36))  
(({pt1}) ({pt2}))  
t
point-starts-interval
(point-starts-interval ±pt ±i)
functor
Point ?pt is simultaneous with the startpoint of interval ?i. 
> (select0 (?i)  
    (point-starts-interval !ex:pt3 ?i))  
(({i36}) ({i38}))  
t
point-during-interval
(point-during-interval ±pt ±i)
functor
Point ?pt is after the startpoint but before the endpoint of interval ?i. 
> (select0 (?pt)  
    (point-during-interval ?pt !ex:i36))  
(({pt4}) ({pt5}))  
t
point-ends-interval
(point-ends-interval ±pt ±i)
functor
Point ?pt is simultaneous with the endpoint of interval ?i. 
> (select0 (?i)  
    (point-ends-interval !ex:pt6 ?i))  
(({i16}) ({i36}))  
t
point-after-interval
(point-after-interval ±pt ±i)
functor
Point ?pt is after the endpoint of interval ?i. 
> (select0 (?pt)  
    (point-after-interval ?pt !ex:i36))  
(({pt7}) ({pt8}))  
t

Relations between Intervals and Datetimes

There are 5 ways to relate an Interval to a Datetime.

interval-before-datetime
(interval-before-datetime ±i ±dt)
functor
The endpoint of interval ?i is before the datetime ?dt on the timeline. 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (interval-before-datetime ?i "2008-02-03"))  
(({i12}))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct(?dt)  
    (interval-before-datetime !ex:i36 ?upi)  
    (upi-to-date-string ?upi ?dt))  
(("2008-02-07T00:00:00-08:00") ("2008-02-08T00:00:00-08:00"))  
t
interval-starttime
(interval-starttime ±i ±dt)
functor
The startpoint of interval ?i is simultaneous with the datetime ?dt on the timeline. 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (interval-starttime ?i "2008-02-03"))  
(({i36}) ({i38}))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct(?dt)  
    (interval-starttime !ex:i36 ?upi)  
    (upi-to-date-string ?upi ?dt))  
(("2008-02-03T00:00:00-08:00"))  
t
interval-contains-datetime
(interval-contains-datetime ±i ±dt)
functor
The startpoint of interval ?i is before the datetime ?dt, and the endpoint of ?i is after ?dt on the timeline. 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (interval-contains-datetime ?i "2008-02-03"))  
(({i15}) ({i14}) ({i18}) ({i17}) ({i16}) ({i27}) ({i28}))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct (?dt)  
    (interval-contains-datetime !ex:i36 ?upi)  
    (upi-to-date-string ?upi ?dt))  
(("2008-02-04T00:00:00-08:00") ("2008-02-05T00:00:00-08:00"))  
t
interval-endtime
(interval-endtime ±i ±dt)
functor
The endpoint of interval ?i is simultaneous with the datetime ?dt on the timeline. 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (interval-endtime ?i "2008-02-03"))  
(({i13}))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct(?dt)  
    (interval-endtime !ex:i36 ?upi)  
    (upi-to-date-string ?upi ?dt))  
(("2008-02-06T00:00:00-08:00"))  
t
interval-after-datetime
(interval-after-datetime ±i ±dt)
functor
The startpoint of interval ?i is after the datetime ?dt on the timeline. 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (interval-after-datetime ?i "2008-02-03"))  
(({i45}) ({i48}) ({i58}) ({i68}) ({i78}))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct (?dt)  
    (interval-after-datetime !ex:i36 ?upi)  
    (upi-to-date-string ?upi ?dt))  
(("2008-02-01T00:00:00-08:00") ("2008-02-02T00:00:00-08:00"))  
t

Relations between two Intervals

Finally, there are 13 ways that two intervals can be related on the timeline.

a depiction of the Allen temporal relations

interval-before
(interval-before ±i1 ±i2)
functor
The endpoint of interval ?i1 is before the startpoint of interval ?i2. 
Example: select all intervals before ex:i68  
 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (interval-before ?i !ex:i68))  
(({i12}) ({i13}) ({i14}) ({i45}) ({i15}))  
t
interval-meets
(interval-meets ±i1 ±i2)
functor
The endpoint of interval ?i1 is simultaneous with the startpoint of interval ?i2. 
Example: select all intervals that meet ex:i68  
 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (interval-meets ?i !ex:i68))  
(({i16}) ({i36}))  
t
interval-overlaps
(interval-overlaps ±i1 ±i2)
functor
The startpoint of interval ?i1 is before the startpoint of interval ?i2, and the endpoint of ?i1 is during interval ?i2. 
Example: select all intervals that overlap ex:i38  
 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (interval-overlaps ?i !ex:i38))  
(({i15}) ({i14}) ({i17}) ({i16}) ({i27}))  
t
interval-starts
(interval-starts ±i1 ±i2)
functor
The startpoint of interval ?i1 is simultaneous with the startpoint of interval ?i2, and the endpoint of interval ?i1 is during interval ?i2. 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (interval-starts ?i !ex:i16))  
(({i12}) ({i15}) ({i14}) ({i13}))  
t
interval-during
(interval-during ±i1 ±i2)
functor
The startpoint and endpoint of interval ?i1 are both during interval ?i2. 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (interval-during ?i !ex:i27))  
(({i36}) ({i45}))  
t
interval-finishes
(interval-finishes ±i1 ±i2)
functor
The startpoint of interval ?i1 is during interval ?i2, and the endpoint of ?i1 is simultaneous with the endpoint of ?i2. 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (interval-finishes ?i !ex:i38))  
(({i48}) ({i68}) ({i78}) ({i58}))  
t
interval-cotemporal
(interval-cotemporal ±i1 ±i2)
functor
The startpoint of interval ?i1 is simultaneous with the startpoint of interval ?i2, and the endpoint of ?i1 is simultaneous with the endpoint of ?i2. 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (interval-cotemporal ?i !ex:i36))  
(({i36}))  
t
interval-after
(interval-after ±i1 ±i2)
functor
The startpoint of interval ?i1 is after the endpoint of interval ?i2. 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (interval-after ?i !ex:i45))  
(({i68}) ({i78}))  
t
interval-met-by
(interval-met-by ±i1 ±i2)
functor
The startpoint of interval ?i1 is simultaneous with the endpoint of interval ?i2. 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (interval-met-by ?i !ex:i14))  
(({i45}) ({i48}))  
t
interval-overlapped-by
(interval-overlapped-by ±i1 ±i2)
functor
The startpoint of interval ?i1 is during interval ?i2, and the endpoint of ?i1 is after the endpoint of ?i2. 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (interval-overlapped-by ?i !ex:i36))  
(({i48}) ({i58}))  
t
interval-started-by
(interval-started-by ±i1 ±i2)
functor
The startpoint of interval ?i1 is simultaneous with the startpoint of interval ?i2, and the endpoint of ?i1 is after the endpoint of ?i2. 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (interval-started-by ?i !ex:i14))  
(({i15}) ({i18}) ({i17}) ({i16}))  
t
interval-contains
(interval-contains ±i1 ±i2)
functor
The startpoint and endpoint of interval ?i2 are both during interval ?i1. 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (interval-contains ?i !ex:i36))  
(({i18}) ({i17}) ({i27}) ({i28}))  
t
interval-finished-by
(interval-finished-by ±i1 ±i2)
functor
The startpoint of interval ?i1 is before interval ?i2, and the endpoint of ?i1 is simultaneous with the endpoint of ?i2. 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (interval-finished-by ?i !ex:i48))  
(({i18}) ({i28}) ({i38}))  
t

Relations between an Interval and a Datetime Range

The following relations can be viewed as relations between two intervals where the latter interval is specified by two datetimes.

interval-before-datetimes
(interval-before-datetimes ±i ±dt1 ±dt2)
functor
Interval ?i satisfies relation (interval-before ?i ?i2) where ?i2 has starttime ?dt1 and endtime ?dt2. 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (interval-before-datetimes ?i "2008-02-03" "2008-02-06"))  
(({i12}))  
t
interval-meets-datetimes
(interval-meets-datetimes ±i ±dt1 ±dt2)
functor
Interval ?i satisfies relation (interval-meets ?i ?i2) where ?i2 has starttime ?dt1 and endtime ?dt2. 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (interval-meets-datetimes ?i "2008-02-03" "2008-02-06"))  
(({i13}))  
t
interval-overlaps-datetimes
(interval-overlaps-datetimes ±i ±dt1 ±dt2)
functor
Interval ?i satisfies relation (interval-overlaps ?i ?i2) where ?i2 has starttime ?dt1 and endtime ?dt2. 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (interval-overlaps-datetimes ?i "2008-02-03" "2008-02-06"))  
(({i15}) ({i14}))  
t
interval-starts-datetimes
(interval-starts-datetimes ±i ±dt1 ±dt2)
functor
Interval ?i satisfies relation (interval-starts ?i ?i2) where ?i2 has starttime ?dt1 and endtime ?dt2. 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (interval-starts-datetimes ?i "2008-02-01" "2008-02-06"))  
(({i12}) ({i15}) ({i14}) ({i13}))  
t
interval-during-datetimes
(interval-during-datetimes ±i ±dt1 ±dt2)
functor
Interval ?i satisfies relation (interval-during ?i ?i2) where ?i2 has starttime ?dt1 and endtime ?dt2. 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (interval-during-datetimes ?i "2008-02-03" "2008-02-06"))  
(({i45}))  
t
interval-finishes-datetimes
(interval-finishes-datetimes ±i ±dt1 ±dt2)
functor
Interval ?i satisfies relation (interval-finishes ?i ?i2) where ?i2 has starttime ?dt1 and endtime ?dt2. 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (interval-finishes-datetimes ?i "2008-02-03" "2008-02-08"))  
(({i48}) ({i68}) ({i78}) ({i58}))  
t
interval-cotemporal-datetimes
(interval-cotemporal-datetimes ±i ±dt1 ±dt2)
functor
Interval ?i satisfies relation (interval-cotemporal ?i ?i2) where ?i2 has starttime ?dt1 and endtime ?dt2. 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (interval-cotemporal-datetimes ?i "2008-02-03" "2008-02-08"))  
(({i38}))  
t
interval-after-datetimes
(interval-after-datetimes ±i ±dt1 ±dt2)
functor
Interval ?i satisfies relation (interval-after ?i ?i2) where ?i2 has starttime ?dt1 and endtime ?dt2. 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (interval-after-datetimes ?i "2008-02-03" "2008-02-06"))  
(({i78}))  
t
interval-met-by-datetimes
(interval-met-by-datetimes ±i ±dt1 ±dt2)
functor
Interval ?i satisfies relation (interval-met-by ?i ?i2) where ?i2 has starttime ?dt1 and endtime ?dt2. 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (interval-met-by-datetimes ?i "2008-02-03" "2008-02-06"))  
(({i68}))  
t
interval-overlapped-by-datetimes
(interval-overlapped-by-datetimes ±i ±dt1 ±dt2)
functor
Interval ?i satisfies relation (interval-overlapped-by ?i ?i2) where ?i2 has starttime ?dt1 and endtime ?dt2. 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (interval-overlapped-by-datetimes ?i "2008-02-03" "2008-02-06"))  
(({i48}) ({i58}))  
t
interval-started-by-datetimes
(interval-started-by-datetimes ±i ±dt1 ±dt2)
functor
Interval ?i satisfies relation (interval-started-by ?i ?i2) where ?i2 has starttime ?dt1 and endtime ?dt2. 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (interval-started-by-datetimes ?i "2008-02-01" "2008-02-06"))  
 
(({i18}) ({i17}))  
t
interval-contains-datetimes
(interval-contains-datetimes ±i ±dt1 ±dt2)
functor
Interval ?i satisfies relation (interval-contains ?i ?i2) where ?i2 has starttime ?dt1 and endtime ?dt2. 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (interval-contains-datetimes ?i "2008-02-03" "2008-02-06"))  
(({i18}) ({i17}) ({i27}) ({i28}))  
t
interval-finished-by-datetimes
(interval-finished-by-datetimes ±i ±dt1 ±dt2)
functor
Interval ?i satisfies relation (interval-finished-by ?i ?i2) where ?i2 has starttime ?dt1 and endtime ?dt2. 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (interval-finished-by-datetimes ?i "2008-02-03" "2008-02-08"))  
(({i18}) ({i28}))  
t

Relations between Datetimes specified by Property and Subject

The following relations can be used to efficiently compare two datetimes. Datetimes are specified as the object corresponding to a property ?p and subject ?s, or they can specified as an explicit value.

datetime-simultaneous
(datetime-simultaneous ±p1 ±s1 ±p2 ±s2)
functor
This can be viewed as comparing two datetimes that are each specified by a property-subject pair. The subjects ?s1 and ?s2 can each be a point or an interval. The properties ?p1 and ?p2 can be !t:time (if its subject is a point), or one of !t:starttime or !t:endtime (if its subject is an interval). This functor requires the datetime ?dt1 corresponding to triple (?s1 ?p1 ?dt1) to be simultaneous with the datetime ?dt2 corresponding to triple (?s2 ?p2 ?dt2). 
> (select0-distinct(?pt)  
    (datetime-simultaneous !t:time ?pt !t:time !ex:pt4))  
(({pt4}))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (datetime-simultaneous !t:endtime ?i !t:starttime !ex:i68))  
(({i16}) ({i36}))  
t
datetime-simultaneous-value
(datetime-simultaneous-value ±p ±s ±dt)
functor
This can be viewed as comparing two datetimes, the first of which is specified by a property-subject pair. The subject ?s can be a point or an interval. The property ?p can be !t:time (if its subject is a point), or one of !t:starttime or !t:endtime (if its subject is an interval). This functor requires the datetime ?dtps corresponding to triple (?s ?p ?dtps) to be simultaneous with the datetime ?dt. 
> (select0-distinct(?pt)  
    (datetime-simultaneous-value !t:time ?pt "2008-02-04"))  
(({pt4}))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (datetime-simultaneous-value !t:starttime ?i "2008-02-04"))  
(({i45}) ({i48}))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (datetime-simultaneous-value !t:endtime ?i "2008-02-04"))  
(({i14}))  
t
datetime-before
(datetime-before ±p1 ±s1 ±p2 ±s2)
functor
This can be viewed as comparing two datetimes that are each specified by a property-subject pair. The subjects ?s1 and ?s2 can each be a point or an interval. The properties ?p1 and ?p2 can be !t:time (if its subject is a point), or one of !t:starttime or !t:endtime (if its subject is an interval). This functor requires the datetime ?dt1 corresponding to triple (?s1 ?p1 ?dt1) to be before the datetime ?dt2 corresponding to triple (?s2 ?p2 ?dt2). 
> (select0-distinct(?pt)  
    (datetime-before !t:time ?pt !t:time !ex:pt3))  
(({pt1}) ({pt2}))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (datetime-before !t:starttime ?i !t:starttime !ex:i36))  
(({i12}) ({i15}) ({i14}) ({i18}) ({i17}) ({i16}) ({i13}) ({i27})  
 ({i28}))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct (?i1)  
    (datetime-before !t:starttime ?i !t:endtime !ex:i36))  
nil  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct (?i)  
    (datetime-before !t:starttime ?i !t:endtime !ex:i36))  
(({i12}) ({i15}) ({i14}) ({i18}) ({i17}) ({i16}) ({i13}) ({i27})  
 ({i28}) ({i36}) ...)  
t
datetime-before-value
(datetime-before-value ±p ±s ±dt)
functor
This can be viewed as comparing two datetimes, the first of which is specified by a property-subject pair. The subject ?s can be a point or an interval. The property ?p can be !t:time (if its subject is a point), or one of !t:starttime or !t:endtime (if its subject is an interval). This functor requires the datetime ?dtps corresponding to triple (?s ?p ?dtps) to be before the datetime ?dt. 
> (select0-distinct(?pt)  
    (datetime-before-value !t:time ?pt "2008-02-06"))  
(({pt1}) ({pt2}) ({pt3}) ({pt4}) ({pt5}))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct(?dt)  
    (datetime-before-value !t:time !ex:pt3 ?upi)  
    (upi-to-date-string ?upi ?dt))  
(("2008-02-04T00:00:00-08:00") ("2008-02-05T00:00:00-08:00") ("2008-02-06T00:00:00-08:00")  
 ("2008-02-07T00:00:00-08:00") ("2008-02-08T00:00:00-08:00"))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (datetime-before-value !t:starttime ?i "2008-02-04"))  
(({i12}) ({i15}) ({i14}) ({i18}) ({i17}) ({i16}) ({i13}) ({i27})  
 ({i28}) ({i36}) ...)  
t
datetime-after
(datetime-after ±p1 ±s1 ±p2 ±s2)
functor
This can be viewed as comparing two datetimes that are each specified by a property-subject pair. The subjects ?s1 and ?s2 can each be a point or an interval. The properties ?p1 and ?p2 can be !t:time (if its subject is a point), or one of !t:starttime or !t:endtime (if its subject is an interval). This functor requires the datetime ?dt1 corresponding to triple (?s1 ?p1 ?dt1) to be after the datetime ?dt2 corresponding to triple (?s2 ?p2 ?dt2). 
> (select0-distinct(?pt)  
    (datetime-after !t:time ?pt !t:time !ex:pt3))  
(({pt4}) ({pt5}) ({pt6}) ({pt7}) ({pt8}))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (datetime-after !t:starttime ?i !t:time !ex:pt3))  
(({i45}) ({i48}) ({i58}) ({i68}) ({i78}))  
t
datetime-after-value
(datetime-after-value ±p ±s ±dt)
functor
This can be viewed as comparing two datetimes, the first of which is specified by a property-subject pair. The subject ?s can be a point or an interval. The property ?p can be !t:time (if its subject is a point), or one of !t:starttime or !t:endtime (if its subject is an interval). This functor requires the datetime ?dtps corresponding to triple (?s ?p ?dtps) to be after the datetime ?dt. 
> (select0-distinct(?pt)  
    (datetime-after-value !t:time ?pt "2008-02-04"))  
(({pt5}) ({pt6}) ({pt7}) ({pt8}))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (datetime-after-value !t:starttime ?i "2008-02-04"))  
(({i58}) ({i68}) ({i78}))  
t
datetime-increasing
(datetime-increasing ±p1 ±s1 ±p2 ±s2 ±p3 ±s3)
functor
This can be viewed as comparing three datetimes that are each specified by a property-subject pair. The subjects ?s1, ?s2 and ?s3 can each be a point or an interval. The properties ?p1, ?p2 and ?p3 can be !t:time (if its subject is a point), or one of !t:starttime or !t:endtime (if its subject is an interval). This functor requires the three datetimes ?dti (i=1,2,3) corresponding to triples (?si ?pi ?dti) to be in increasing order. 
> (select0-distinct(?pt)  
    (datetime-increasing !t:time !ex:pt2 !t:time ?pt !t:time !ex:pt7))  
(({pt3}) ({pt4}) ({pt5}) ({pt6}))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (datetime-increasing !t:endtime !ex:i12 !t:starttime ?i !t:starttime !ex:i68))  
(({i36}) ({i38}) ({i45}) ({i48}) ({i58}))  
t
datetime-increasing-value
(datetime-increasing-value ±dt1 ±p ±s ±dt2)
functor
This can be viewed as comparing three datetimes, one of which is specified by a property-subject pair. The subjects ?s can be a point or an interval. The property ?p can be !t:time (if its subject is a point), or one of !t:starttime or !t:endtime (if its subject is an interval). This functor requires the datetime ?dtps corresponding to triple (?s ?p ?dtps) to be between the provided datetimes ?dt1 and ?dt2. 
> (select0-distinct(?pt)  
    (datetime-increasing-value "2008-02-02" !t:time ?pt "2008-02-07"))  
(({pt3}) ({pt4}) ({pt5}) ({pt6}))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (datetime-increasing-value "2008-02-02" !t:starttime ?i "2008-02-07"))  
(({i36}) ({i38}) ({i45}) ({i48}) ({i58}) ({i68}))  
t  
 
> (select0-distinct(?i)  
    (datetime-increasing-value "2008-02-02" !t:endtime ?i "2008-02-07"))  
(({i13}) ({i14}) ({i45}) ({i15}) ({i16}) ({i36}))  
t