Minimum Difference
Syntax
Minimum Difference seconds
Merge Events
Event event_to_merge_1
Event event_to_merge_2
...
Event destination_event
Parameters
- seconds: The gap, in seconds, that starts a new group (for example
1.20).
Description
Companion to Merge Events. Merge Events sorts the destination event by time. Minimum Difference then splits finishers into groups. The first finisher in each group is the group leader. Anyone less than seconds behind the leader gets the leader's time. The first finisher seconds or more behind starts a new group.
Use Pack Time for road-cycling finishes scored with a 1-second gap to the rider ahead. Use Minimum Difference when finishers should share a time only if they're within a set gap of their group's first finisher.
Remarks
Minimum Difference has no effect when the destination is a lap event.
Minimum Difference overwrites the times in the destination event. Merge into a separate event so the original times stay in the source events, and add that event to the race before you run the listing. Don't list the destination as a source: Merge Events clears it first, so all its times are lost.
You can place Minimum Difference anywhere in the listing. If the listing also uses Plus, Minus, or Round First, RunScore applies those first and then groups the results.
Minimum Difference or Pack Time?
| Property | Minimum Difference | Pack Time |
|---|---|---|
| What changes | Times saved in the destination event | Times in the listing output; with Event to Database, also the field you name. Event times don't change. |
| Gap | You set it (for example 1.20 seconds) | Fixed at 1 second |
| Measured from | First finisher in the group | Rider immediately ahead |
| Gap exactly equal to the limit | Starts a new group | Stays in the pack |
| Used with | Merge Events (destination isn't a lap event) | Any listing with Event, including Event to Database |
With a 1.00-second gap, the two commands differ for the third and fourth finishers:
| Raw time | Minimum Difference 1.00 | Pack Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1:02:10.00 | 1:02:10.00 | 1:02:10.00 |
| 1:02:10.60 | 1:02:10.00 | 1:02:10.00 |
| 1:02:11.30 | 1:02:11.30 | 1:02:10.00 |
| 1:02:11.90 | 1:02:11.30 | 1:02:10.00 |
| 1:02:13.50 | 1:02:13.50 | 1:02:13.50 |
The third finisher is 1.30 seconds behind the group's first finisher, so Minimum Difference starts a new group. Pack Time compares with the rider ahead (0.70 seconds), so the pack continues.
Examples
To give finishers less than 1.20 seconds behind their group's first finisher that finisher's time, and keep the raw times in Finish:
Minimum Difference 1.20
Merge Events
Event Finish
Event FinishGrp