timeAgo method

String timeAgo({ bool abbreviatedUnits = false, bool showRelativeDates = false, int precision = 2, })

Returns a human-readable string representation of the difference between this date and the current date.

Optional parameters:

• abbreviatedUnits: If true, displays abbreviated units. Default is false.
• showRelativeDates: If true, displays relative dates for time differences within a day (e.g., "today", "yesterday"). Default is false.
• precision: Specifies the number of units to display for the time difference. Default is 2.

Examples:

DateTime dateTime = DateTime(2023, 5, 10, 15, 30);
print(dateTime.diffForHumans()); // Output: "2 days ago"

DateTime pastDateTime = DateTime(2022, 10, 1);
print(pastDateTime.diffForHumans(showRelativeDates: true)); // Output: "7 months ago"

Implementation

String timeAgo({
  bool abbreviatedUnits = false,
  bool showRelativeDates = false,
  int precision = 2,
}) {
  final DateTime now = DateTime.now();
  final Duration difference = now.difference(this);
  final int seconds = difference.inSeconds;
  final int minutes = difference.inMinutes;
  final int hours = difference.inHours;
  final int days = difference.inDays;

  if (showRelativeDates && difference.abs().inDays < 2) {
    if (difference.isNegative) {
      return 'yesterday';
    } else if (difference.inDays == 0) {
      return 'today';
    } else {
      return 'tomorrow';
    }
  }

  if (seconds < 5) {
    return 'just now';
  } else if (seconds < 60) {
    return '$seconds${abbreviatedUnits ? 's' : ' seconds'} ago';
  } else if (minutes < 60) {
    return '$minutes${abbreviatedUnits ? 'm' : ' minutes'} ago';
  } else if (hours < 24) {
    return '${_formatUnit(hours, abbreviatedUnits, 'hour')} ago';
  } else if (days < 30) {
    return '${_formatUnit(days, abbreviatedUnits, 'day')} ago';
  } else if (days < 365) {
    final int months = _calculateMonths(now, this);
    return '${_formatUnit(months, abbreviatedUnits, 'month')} ago';
  } else {
    final int years = days ~/ 365;
    return '${_formatUnit(years, abbreviatedUnits, 'year')} ago';
  }
}