The GETTIMESTAMP procedure initializes  its  parameter  for  use
  with the DATE and TIME functions.

  Syntax:

     GETTIMESTAMP( t [[, str]] )

  The parameter 't' is a variable of the TIMESTAMP type, which  is
  a  predeclared  record  type.   The  TIMESTAMP  data  type is as
  follows:

  TIMESTAMP = PACKED RECORD
     Datevalid, Timevalid   : BOOLEAN;
     Year                   : INTEGER;
     Month                  : 1..12;
     Day                    : 1..31;
     Hour                   : 0..23;
     Minute                 : 0..59;
     Second                 : 0..59;
     Hundredth              : 0..99;
        {64-bit OpenVMS binary time:}
     BINARY_TIME            : [QUAD] RECORD L1,L2 : INTEGER END;
     DAY_OF_WEEK            : 1..7; {1 is Monday, 7 is Sunday}
     END;

  The parameter 'str' is a string type that represents a  date  or
  both  a  date  and  time.   The  following  rules  apply  to the
  specification of the 'str' parameter:

   o  If you do not specify the 'str', the GETTIMESTAMP  procedure
      initializes  the  variable  to  be  the  date  and  time  at
      execution of your program.

   o  If you specify an invalid date, the  GETTIMESTAMP  procedure
      sets  the date to be January 1, 1; if you specify an invalid
      time, it sets the time to be midnight.