[Libreoffice-bugs] [Bug 49135] For empty cells MONTH() function returns '12' instead of error message.

[bugzilla-daemon at freedesktop.org]

https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=49135

Rainer Bielefeld <LibreOffice at bielefeldundbuss.de> changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
         OS/Version|Linux (All)                 |All
             Status|NEEDINFO                    |NEW
           Severity|normal                      |enhancement
                 CC|                            |commerce at traduction.biz
            Summary|MONTH() function returns    |For empty cells MONTH()
                   |'12' for empty cells        |function returns '12'
                   |                            |instead of error message.
            Version|LibO 3.4.4 release          |LibO 3.3.0 Beta2

--- Comment #4 from Rainer Bielefeld <LibreOffice at bielefeldundbuss.de> 2012-04-25 22:17:09 PDT ---
Hm, I was too busy with the example in the report (I misunderstood), so that I
did not read the summary carefully.

[Reproducible] with "LibreOffice 3.5.3.1 (RC1) German UI/Locale [Build-ID:
21cb047-d7e6025-9ba54fc-b4a51a8-f42372b] on German WIN7 Home Premium (64bit):

a) formula in A2: =MONTH(B2) 
b) B2: Empty cell.
c) result unexpectedly number "12"

Also in LibO 3.3.3, OOo 3.3, OOo 1.1.4, so inherited from OOo

Some thoughts:
An empty cell might be seen as "0" by the function, what is the same as
"30.12.1899" in normal number format. For that the result would be correct. I
tested with Numbers 0 ... 3 in B2, and indeed for 0 and 1 function result is
"12", for 3 (1.1.1900) result became "1" for January.
So the calculation is correct, but may be an error message for an empty cell
would be more consistent than simply counting it as "0"? I can't see a real
bug, many other number operations count empty cells as "0"

I did some additional tests with 'Date()', where also empty cells are counted
as "0". 

Bug or feature? I can't tell. Currently I see this one more as a low priority
Enhancement Request to improve consistency and comprehensibility than a real
bug.

@David:
May be Help should be competed concerning empty cells?

@Kohei:
Can you please check whether MONTH() behaves in accordance with the current
general exception rules?

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