+ // postedDurationToMinutes - converts a value representing a duration
+ // (usually enetered in a form by a user) to an integer number of minutes.
+ //
+ // Parameters:
+ // $duration - user entered duration string. Valid strings are:
+ // 3 or 3h - means 3 hours. Note: h and m letters are not localized.
+ // 0.25 or 0.25h or .25 or .25h - means a quarter of hour.
+ // 0,25 or 0,25h or ,25 or ,25h - same as above for users with comma ad decimal mark.
+ // 1:30 - means 1 hour 30 minutes.
+ // 25m - means 25 minutes.
+ // $max - maximum number of minutes that is valid.
+ //
+ // At the moment, we have 2 variations of duration types:
+ // 1) A duration within a day, such as in a time entry.
+ // These are less or equal to 24*60 minutes.
+ //
+ // 2) A duration of a monthly quota, with max value of 31*24*60 minutes.
+ //
+ // This function is generic to be used for both types.
+ //
+ // Returns false if the value cannot be converted.
+ static function postedDurationToMinutes($duration, $max = 1440) {
+ // Handle empty value.
+ if (!isset($duration) || strlen($duration) == 0)
+ return null; // Value is not set. Caller decides whether it is valid or not.