Overriding Timestamps

By default, when Tracking with Maps or using the Analytic/NamedAnalytic interfaces, the timestamp of the event is automatically set to the time at which the Hoglin#track call is made. But, in some situations, you may want to manually override this and set your own timestamp for an event. Let’s explore how to do this.

Manually constructing a RecordedAnalytic

When tracking with maps or the interfaces, both will dumb down to a RecordedAnalytic under the hood. This is a class containing the event name, properties, and notably a timestamp. Typically, the timestamp is defaulted to the current time upon construction. However, we expose this class, along with a method for tracking with it: Hoglin#track(RecordedAnalytic<?> analytic), providing a way for you to set your own timestamp.

RecordedAnalytic is generic!

The properties field is typed as <T>. T must either be a Map<String, Object>, or implement the Analytic/NamedAnalytic interface. Using any other type will likely cause runtime exceptions.

Full code example

Java

// Tracking with maps

Hoglin hoglin = /** Your Hoglin instance */;

final RecordedAnalytic<Map<String, Object>> analytic = new RecordedAnalytic<>(
    "example_event",
    Instant.now().minus(10, ChronoUnit.MINUTES),
    Map.of(
        "example_string", "test",
        "example_integer", 123
    )
);

hoglin.track(analytic);

// Using the Analytic/NamedAnalytic interface

class ExampleAnalytic implements NamedAnalytic {
    final String exampleString;
    final int exampleInteger;

    ExampleAnalytic(final String exampleString, final int exampleInteger) {
        this.exampleString = exampleString;
        this.exampleInteger = exampleInteger;
    }

    @Override
    public @NotNull String getEventType() { return "example_event"; }
}

Hoglin hoglin = /** Your Hoglin instance */;

final RecordedAnalytic<ExampleAnalytic> analytic = new RecordedAnalytic<>(
    "example_event",
    Instant.now().minus(10, ChronoUnit.MINUTES),
    new ExampleAnalytic("test", 123)
);

hoglin.track(analytic);

Kotlin

// Tracking with maps

val hoglin: Hoglin = /** Your Hoglin instance */

val analytic = RecordedAnalytic(
    "example_event",
    Instant.now().minus(10, ChronoUnit.MINUTES),
    mapOf(
        "example_string" to "test",
        "example_integer" to 123
    )
)

hoglin.track(analytic)

// Using the Analytic/NamedAnalytic interface

class ExampleAnalytic(
    val exampleString: String,
    val exampleInteger: Int
) : NamedAnalytic {
    override fun getEventType(): String = "example_event"
}

val hoglin: Hoglin = /** Your Hoglin instance */

val analytic = RecordedAnalytic(
    "example_event",
    Instant.now().minus(10, ChronoUnit.MINUTES),
    ExampleAnalytic("test", 123)
)

hoglin.track(analytic)

This will track the example_event with a timestamp of 10 minutes ago.