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Python datetime module

Video link: https://youtu.be/r1Iv4d6CO2Q

In this video, we learned about the datetime module to manipulate date and time in Python.

Programs in the Video

Get Current Date

We can find the current local date using the today() method of the date class of the datetime module:

import datetime as dt

current_date = dt.date.today()
print(current_date)

Output

2021-02-10

Similar to the date class, the datetime module has many other useful classes to work with date and time:

  • date class - to work with date
  • time class - to work with time
  • datetime class - combination of date and time classes

The datetime.date Class

The date class of the datetime module is used to create date objects that can store year, month and day.

import datetime as dt

date1 = dt.date(2021, 1, 21)
print(date1)

print("Year:", date1.year)
print("Month:", date1.month)
print("Day:", date1.day)

Output

2021-01-21
Year: 2021
Month: 1
Day: 21

The datetime.time Class

The time class of the datetime module is used to create time objects that can store time of day like hours, minutes, seconds, and microseconds.

The time class takes in all optional integer arguments. By default all of them are 0.

  • The first argument is hour from 0 to 24
  • The second one is minutes from 0 to 60
  • The third is seconds from 0 to 60
  • The fourth is microsecond from 0 to 999999
import datetime as dt

time1 = dt.time(10, 47, 20, 234566)
print(time1)

print("Hour:", time1.hour)
print("Minute:", time1.minute)
print("Second:", time1.second)
print("Microsecond:", time1.microsecond)

Output

10:47:20.234566
Hour: 10
Minute: 47
Second: 20
Microsecond: 234566

Note: If you want more control and functionalities on time, use the time module.

The datetime.datetime Class

The datetime class of the datetime module is used to create objects that contain all the information from a date object as well as a time object.

import datetime as dt
datetime_obj = dt.datetime(2021, 11, 28, 23, 55, 59)

print(datetime_obj)

print(datetime_obj.date())
print(datetime_obj.time())

Output

2021-11-28 23:55:59
2021-11-28
23:55:59

Like with date and time objects, we can also access individual attributes like year, month and hour as previously discussed.

Getting current date and time

To get the current local date and time at once, we can use the now() method of the datetime object.

import datetime as dt

current_time = dt.datetime.now()

print(current_time)

Output

2021-01-21 05:56:45.817533

The datetime.timedelta Class

A timedelta object represents the difference between two dates or times.

Let's find out the time difference between now and the next new year.

import datetime as dt

current_time = dt.datetime.now()
next_new_year = dt.datetime(2022, 1, 1)

time_remaining = next_new_year - current_time

print(time_remaining)
print(type(time_remaining))

Output

324 days, 13:31:29.981402
<class 'datetime.timedelta'>

This timedelta object can also be added or subtracted from datetime objects to get new datetime objects.

Python strftime() method

The strftime() method returns a string representing date and time for the datetime object.

There are many formats to write the date and time depending on your location.

If you are in the US, you probably use the mm-dd-yyyy format while if you're in the UK you will generally use the dd-mm-yyyy format.

The strftime() method allows us to display the date and time in a custom specific format.

import datetime as dt

current_datetime = dt.datetime.now()
print(current_datetime)

string_date = current_datetime.strftime("%A, %B %d, %Y")
print(string_date)

Output

2021-01-21 06:20:19.627086
Thursday, January 21, 2021

Here,

  • %A represents the weekday name i.e. Thursday
  • %B represents the month's full name
  • %d represents the day of the month
  • %Y represents the year

There are many other format codes:

Directive Meaning Example
%a Abbreviated weekday name Sun, Mon, ...
%A Full weekday name Sunday, Monday, ...
%w Weekday as a decimal number 0, 1, ..., 6
%d Day of the month as a zero-padded decimal 01, 02, ..., 31
%b Abbreviated month name Jan, Feb, ..., Dec
%p Locale’s AM or PM AM, PM

Python strptime() method

The strptime() method converts strings to datetime objects.

import datetime as dt

date_string = "21 June, 2021"

date_object = dt.datetime.strptime(date_string, "%d %B, %Y")
print("date_object:", date_object)

Output

date_object: 2018-06-21 00:00:00