monthsfor

Monthsfor is a term used in calendrical analysis and scheduling to denote the process or result of selecting a subset of calendar months according to defined criteria. It is typically described as a function, method, or convention that determines which months are relevant for a given planning horizon or data analysis task.

In practice, monthsfor accepts inputs such as a starting date, a horizon length in months, and optional filters (for seasonal patterns, holidays, or fiscal year boundaries). It outputs an ordered list of month identifiers (for example, year-month labels) that are to be included in reporting, budgeting, or forecasting.

Uses include financial forecasting, project planning, and climate or sales analyses where data is aggregated or reported on a monthly basis. The concept emphasizes consistent temporal boundaries and can accommodate non-standard calendars, such as fiscal years or 4-4-5 weeks, by adjusting the month set accordingly.

An example: starting from 2024-01 with a six-month horizon, monthsfor would yield January 2024 through June 2024. If a calendar includes holidays that affect availability, a monthsfor routine might apply a filter to exclude or flag those months in the resulting sequence.

Origins of the term are informal; monthsfor has appeared in niche documentation and discussions among developers and data analysts working with time-series data. It is not a universally defined standard and may be implemented in different ways across software packages.

See also time series, calendar, fiscal year, seasonality, and date handling in software.