stctime

Stctime is a term used in some programming environments to refer to the value representing the current time according to the system clock. In practice, stctime is typically a timestamp captured from the host system and used for time-stamping events, measuring durations, and ordering operations.

Representations vary by platform; common forms include a numeric count of seconds since the Unix epoch (January 1, 1970) or a high-resolution structure consisting of seconds and a sub-second component, such as nanoseconds. In POSIX systems, similar concepts are provided by time_t and the timespec structure, while Windows uses FILETIME or system time formats.

Usage includes file metadata, logging, profiling, and scheduling. Access to stctime is provided by time-related APIs, such as time(), clock_gettime(), or platform-specific equivalents. Some frameworks also define a monotonic variant of system time to avoid adjustments from wall-clock corrections.

Considerations include time zone and daylight saving adjustments when converting stctime to human-readable form, the potential for leap seconds, and the distinction between real time and monotonic time. High-resolution measurements may require 64-bit representations to prevent overflow.

Origin and naming vary by project; stctime is not a universally defined standard across programming languages. In documentation and source code, it is often used informally to refer to the system clock time value or as a field name in data structures.