Get the current system time as milliseconds since epoch

Summary

The currenttime macro returns the current system time as a long integer representing milliseconds since the Unix epoch (January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC). This provides a precise timestamp for build-time operations.

Syntax

${currenttime}

Parameters

None - this macro takes no parameters.

Behavior

• Returns the current system time in milliseconds
• Uses System.currentTimeMillis() internally
• The value represents milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC
• The timestamp is captured at the time the macro is evaluated

Examples

Capture build time:

Build-Time: ${currenttime}

Use as a unique identifier component:

Build-Id: ${bsn}-${currenttime}

Create timestamped filenames:

output.file=bundle-${currenttime}.jar

Calculate elapsed time (with another timestamp):

# In combination with other macros for time calculations

Use Cases

• Recording precise build timestamps
• Creating unique build identifiers
• Timestamping artifacts
• Calculating build durations
• Versioning based on build time
• Creating time-based unique values

Notes

• The value is in milliseconds, not seconds
• To convert to a readable date format, use the ${long2date} macro
• The timestamp represents UTC time
• For formatted timestamps, use ${tstamp} macro instead
• This is different from ${now} which returns seconds since epoch

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See test cases in MacroTestsForDocsExamples.java