I am writing a bash script (in Linux) that writes a CSV file that starts with a timestamp followed by a number that represents an elapsed time in seconds.
I can format the file and the timestamp any way I want to.
How do I format the timestamp so that Calc recognizes it as a timestamp that can be displayed as a date and also used for date arithmetic down to seconds without creating weird formulas to parse the input field.
I will be importing the file periodically (probably into an empty sheet - or I can use some sort of a template if that helps). The point is that I want it to “just work” without a bunch of steps I have to remember and repeat.
Once that works, it would be nice - to import the file into the first few columns of a spreadsheet that already has some formulas, etc. in subsequent columns to process the data.
I know what databases are, but haven’t done anything with them in forever and would greatly prefer not having to learn base. I have used Calc for a long time and am pretty good with very simple spreadsheets.
I see a number of articles about how to live with data that already exists and isn’t understood to start with but nothing about how to get it right to start with,
I am open to using something other than CSV if it makes this task easier and isn’t too complex with a long learning curve.
