In this episode, we dive into working with date periods, which is an absolute game-changer for building up employee availability. The focus here is on figuring out when an employee is free, taking into account their general schedule, exceptions (like days off or busy times), and any appointments that already exist.
We introduce the period
package from Sparsely, which makes it super easy to create, manage, and manipulate complex periods of time. Think of it as a toolkit for handling timelines: you can define broad ranges (like "from now until a year from now") and then cut out slices in the middle for booked times or unavailable slots.
In this practical walkthrough, we:
ScheduleAvailability
class to help us calculate free slots for employees.By the end, you'll have a good understanding of how date periods can help build up an employee's availability. Next, we'll integrate this knowledge to show free slots over longer periods (like weeks or months), setting us up to show exactly when someone can book!