Accent Fields

Datetime

One temporal data type, three granularities — the method fixes which form a field stores.

The temporal family: one date data type holding an ISO-8601 string in one of three forms, with the method fixing which form a field stores. All three sort lexicographically in time order within their form — the property everything else here leans on — and all three ride native inputs, so the control is the platform's own.

Method Stores Reach for it when
Date & Time 2026-10-06T20:00 — a moment, local the hour is content: showtimes, openings
Date 2026-10-06 — a day the day is the fact: deadlines, publish dates
Time 20:00 — a time of no particular day recurring hours: opens-at, class times

The forms are granularities, not formats: which one a field stores is part of its contract, because a template that prints or compares the value has to know what it holds. Mixing forms in one field would make sorting silently wrong, which is why the editor fixes the form rather than offering it per record.

And because the stored form sorts, "what's next" is one comparison — rows.filter((r) => r.content.starts_at >= today) — no parsing, no date library, string order IS time order.

Formatting is the template's job

Store the sortable form, print the human one:

<time datetime="<%= cms.asset.content.starts_at %>">
  <%= new Date(cms.asset.content.starts_at).toLocaleString() %>
</time>

The stored value never carries a display format, a locale, or a timezone name — those are presentation decisions, and they belong at the print site where the audience is known.

When not to use it

  • A duration ("90 minutes") — that is a number of minutes; a time of day that means a length is a unit error waiting to print.
  • Fuzzy dates ("Summer 2026", "TBA") — text, or an options field if the fuzziness has a closed vocabulary. A date field that sometimes holds prose can no longer sort.
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