python datetime format

Sophia 82 Published: 12/13/2024

python datetime format

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The Python datetime module provides a variety of formats for displaying dates and times. These formats are represented as strings, with each string representing a specific date/time format.

Here are some common date and time formats that can be used in Python:

Date Formats

%Y: The year in four-digit format.

Example: 2023

%y: The year in two-digit format.

Example: 23

%m: The month as a zero-padded decimal number.

Example: 01 for January, 02 for February, and so on.

%d: The day of the month as a zero-padded decimal number.

Example: 01 to 31.

Time Formats

%H: The hour (24-hour clock) as a zero-padded decimal number.

Example: 00 to 23.

%I: The hour (12-hour clock) as a zero-padded decimal number.

Example: 01 to 12.

%M: The minute as a zero-padded decimal number.

Example: 00 to 59.

%S: The second as a zero-padded decimal number.

Example: 00 to 59.

Combined Date and Time Formats

%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S: The date in the format YYYY-MM-DD and the time in the format HH:MM:SS.

Example: 2023-01-01 12:34:56.

%a, %b %d %Y %I:%M%p: The locale's abbreviated weekday name, followed by a comma, the month as a locale's abbreviated month name, the day of the month, the four-digit year, and the time in the format HH:MM AM/PM.

Example: Wed, Jan 01 2023 12:34 PM.

Other Formats

%c: The locale's equivalent of no, clock style.

Example: Mon for Monday, Tue for Tuesday, and so on.

%x: The date in the format MM/DD/YYYY.

Example: 01/01/2023.

%X: The time in the format HH:MM:SS.

Example: 12:34:56.

Here are some examples of using these formats:

import datetime

date = datetime.date(2023, 1, 1)


time = datetime.time(12, 34, 56)


print(date.strftime("%Y-%m-%d"))       # Output: 2023-01-01


print(time.strftime("%H:%M:%S"))        # Output: 12:34:56


print(datetime.datetime.combine(date, time).strftime("%a, %b %d %Y %I:%M%p"))  # Output: Wed, Jan 01 2023 12:34 PM


print(time.strftime("%c"))               # Output: 12:34 PM

These are just a few examples of the many date and time formats available in Python. The strftime method allows you to easily convert a datetime object into a string using any of these formats.

strftime python

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strftime is a function in Python's time module that formats a time as a string according to the format specified by the user. The function takes two arguments: the first is the time object, and the second is the format string.

Here's an example of how to use strftime:

import time
Get current time

now = time.localtime()

Format the time using strftime

formatted_time = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", now)


print(formatted_time)

In this example, the time.strftime() function takes two arguments: a format string and a time object. The format string is made up of special characters that are replaced with information from the time object.

Here's a breakdown of what each character in the format string does:

%Y: 4-digit year %m: 2-digit month (1-12) %d: 2-digit day of the month (1-31) %H: 24-hour clock hour (0-23) %M: minute (0-59) %S: second (0-59)

When we run this code, it will output the current time in the format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.

Some common formats are:

%Y-%m-%d: The year followed by the month and day of the month. %H:%M: The hour and minute of the day. %Y %b %d: The year, abbreviated month, and day of the month.

Here's an example of how to use different formats:

print(time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d", now))  # Outputs the date in YYYY-MM-DD format

print(time.strftime("%H:%M", now))  # Outputs the time in HH:MM format


print(time.strftime("%Y %b %d", now))  # Outputs the date in YYYY MMM DD format

Remember that strftime is case-sensitive, so %y will return a 2-digit year, but %Y will return a 4-digit year.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions or need further clarification.

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