How to parse date string with DateTime::Format::Strptime?

Since the DateTime::Format::Strptime module is not a core Perl module and is not available in a restricted sandbox without CPAN access, you cannot rely on it directly in such an environment. However, you can parse simple date strings using core Perl functions and regex, then build a DateTime object if DateTime is installed, or simply process the date parts manually.

Below is an example that parses a date/time string of the format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS using a regex (which is core Perl) and then prints the extracted parts. This approach reflects Perl's TMTOWTDI ("There's more than one way to do it") philosophy by showing a minimal core Perl solution without external dependencies.

Core Perl Date Parsing Using Regex

use strict;
use warnings;

my $date_string = '2024-06-09 14:33:00';

# Use a regex to capture year, month, day, hour, minute, second
if ($date_string =~ /^(\d{4})-(\d{2})-(\d{2})\s+(\d{2}):(\d{2}):(\d{2})$/) {
    my ($year, $month, $day, $hour, $minute, $second) = ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6);

    print "Year: $year\n";
    print "Month: $month\n";
    print "Day: $day\n";
    print "Hour: $hour\n";
    print "Minute: $minute\n";
    print "Second: $second\n";
} else {
    print "Date string format not recognized.\n";
}

Explanation

• The regex ^(\d{4})-(\d{2})-(\d{2})\s+(\d{2}):(\d{2}):(\d{2})$ captures the expected date and time parts from the string.
• Each capture group corresponds to a numeric component of the date/time.
• We then print the components individually — similar to accessing DateTime methods but done manually.
• This solution requires no modules beyond core Perl and runs in any standard Perl 5 environment.

Common Pitfalls

• Regex-based parsing assumes the format exactly matches your pattern.
• No timezone or locale awareness is handled here.
• If you need date arithmetic or formatting, additional code or external modules would be needed (unavailable in sandbox).

While DateTime::Format::Strptime is elegant and powerful for complex parsing, this core Perl approach is the safest fallback in restricted environments. It demonstrates the Perl way—flexible and pragmatic—without external dependencies.