TIME (buf) Class: Elemental function Places the current time in 24-hour ASCII format in the argument. The time is returned as an 8-byte ASCII character string having the following form: hh:mm:ss A 24-hour clock is used. The "buf" is an 8-byte variable, array, array element, or character substring. If "buf" is numeric type and smaller than 8 bytes, data corruption can occur. If "buf" is character type, its associated length is passed to the subroutine. If "buf" is smaller than 8 bytes, the subroutine truncates the date to fit in the specified length. Note that if a CHARACTER array is passed, the subroutine stores the time in the first array element, using the element length, not the length of the entire array. For example, consider the following: CHARACTER*1 HOUR(8) ... CALL TIME(HOUR) The length of the first array element in CHARACTER array HOUR is passed to the TIME subroutine. The subroutine then truncates the time to fit into the one-character element, producing an incorrect result.