helpers do

  def nullable(value)
    if (value) and (value != '')
      return value
    else
      return 'N/a'
    end
  end

  def date_format(date)
    dt = date.to_datetime
    return dt.strftime('%B %d, %Y @ %I:%M:%S %p %Z')
  end

  def date_format_input(date)
    dt = date.to_datetime
    return dt.strftime('%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S')
  end

  def serialize(num)
    return num.to_s.rjust(4, '0')
  end

end