public static Long getReferenceEffectiveTime(final Map<String, String> argsMap, boolean doDefault) {
        Long effectiveMs = getSafeMs(argsMap, StandardHeaderArguments.EFFECTIVE_TIME);
        if (effectiveMs != null) {
            return effectiveMs;
        }
        // This is here for backwards compatibility
        effectiveMs = getSafeMs(argsMap, PERIOD_START_TIME);
        if (effectiveMs != null) {
            return effectiveMs;
        }
        if (doDefault) {
            return System.currentTimeMillis();
        }
        return null;
    }
Helper to build meta data classes.
stroom-receive/stroom-receive-common/src/main/java/stroom/receive/common/StreamFactory.java