Datetime in Python

Introduction

Many contemporary apps make use of the programming language- python. Because Python has so many incredible modules and functions, it's imperative to learn these capabilities if you're a web developer or data scientist. Read the article to learn Datetime in Python.

Overview

The usage of dates and timings is occasionally recommended while creating a script or machine learning algorithm. Dates and times can be expressed in a variety of ways in daily life, such as July 4, March 8, 2022, or December 31, 2022, 23:59:59. Thankfully, the language Python has the datetime module, which allows us to control objects representing dates and times quickly.

What is Datetime in Python?

The datetime module in the Python language is a standalone unit. This indicates that there aren't two distinct data kinds. This datetime module may be imported to make them operate with dates and times. Python has a built-in module called datetime. No extra installation is required on the part of developers.

What is the Import Datetime Statement?

If you want to import datetime in Python, keep in mind that it is rather straightforward. If you wish to import a specific class from the datetime module, such as date, time, datetime, timedelta, and so on, follow these steps:

# importing the date class 
from datetime import date 
# importing the time class 
from datetime import time
# importing the datetime class 
from datetime import datetime

Python DateTime module (Explain with examples, screenshots, images)

What are the Common Classes in the Datetime Module?

When it comes to datetime in Python, there are six primary classes to consider. To learn more about them, continue with this section:

Date

We refer to dates in the Gregorian calendar as "dates." The date class in Python is introduced quite clearly using characteristics such as day, month, and year.

Time

The next class addressed here is time. This class does not depend on the day. Each day is supposed to have 24*60*60 seconds in this context. In Python, the time class has the following attributes: minute, second, microsecond, hour, and tzinfo.

Datetime

In Python, datetime is the combination of dates and times. This class's properties are identical to those of the date and distinct classes. Among the properties are day, month, year, minute, second, microsecond, hour, and tzinfo.

Timedelta

Timedelta may be defined as the difference in microsecond precision between two distinct dates, times, or datetime instances.

Tzinfo

tzinfo is only an attribute. It may supply you with various timezone-related data elements.

Timezone

This class can use the tzinfo abstract base class with a specified offset from UTC. You are now viewing the new UTC version 3.2.

Get the Current Date

The date class's today() method is used to return the current local date. The year, month, and day are three of the characteristics available in today's () method. These may each be printed separately.

# Python program to
# print current date
from datetime import date
# calling the today
# function of date class
today = date.today()
print("Today's date is, "today)

Output: Today's date is 2023-04-10

Get Today’s Year, Month, and Date

The date class's year, month, and date attribute allows us to retrieve the year, month, and date characteristics from the date object.

from datetime import date
# date object of today's date
today = date.today()
print("Current year," today. year)
print("Current month, "today. month)
print("Current day, "today. day)

Output

Current year: 2023 Current month: 10 Current day: 04

Get Date from Timestamp

With the help of the fromtimestamp() function, data objects may be produced from timestamps. The timestamp is the duration from 00:00:00 UTC on January 1st to a certain date.

From datetime import datetime:
# Getting Datetime from timestamp
date_time = datetime.fromtimestamp(1887639468)
print("Datetime from timestamp," date_time)

Output

Datetime from timestamp: 2029-10-25 16:17:48

Convert Date to String

A date object can be converted to a string representation utilizing the methods isoformat() and strftime().

from datetime import date

# calling the today
# function of date class
today = date.today()
 # Converting the date to the string
Str = date.isoformat(today)
print("String Representation," Str)
print(type(Str))

Output

String Representation 2021-08-19

<class 'str'>

List of Date Class Methods

Python Time class

Example 1: Time object representing time in Python.

In Python, the time class allows you to represent time. You can create a time object with hours, minutes, seconds, and microseconds.

Here's an example:

 import datetime
# Create a time object with hours, minutes, seconds, and microseconds
time_obj = datetime.time(14, 30, 45, 500000)
# Display the time object
print(time_obj)

Output:

14:30:45.500000

In this example, we import the datetime module and create a time object with the time values specified (hours=14, minutes=30, seconds=45, microseconds=500000). The time object is then printed, showing the time in the specified format.

Example 2: Get hours, minutes, seconds, and microseconds.

Using attributes, you can access a time object's individual components (hours, minutes, seconds, microseconds). Here's an example:

import datetime
# Create a time object
time_obj = datetime.time(9, 15, 30, 750000)
# Access and print individual components
hours = time_obj.hour
minutes = time_obj.minute
seconds = time_obj.second
microseconds = time_obj.microsecond
print(f"Hours: {hours}")
print(f"Minutes: {minutes}")
print(f"Seconds: {seconds}")
print(f"Microseconds: {microseconds}")

Output:

Hours: 9
Minutes: 15
Seconds: 30
Microseconds: 750000

In this example, we create a time object and then access its attributes (hour, minute, second, and microsecond) to retrieve and print each component individually.

List of Time Class Methods

Python Datetime Class

Date and time data are both included in the DateTime class. Similar to a date object, datetime makes the assumption that the Gregorian calendar is stretched in both directions and that each day has precisely 3600*24 seconds.

List of Datetime Class Methods

Let's look at some of the Datetime class methods in Python.

Python Timedelta Class

The timedelta class in Python is used to calculate date discrepancies and may also be used to manipulate dates in Python. It is one of the simplest methods for manipulating dates.

Operations Supported by Timedelta Class

Python DateTime.tzinfo()

There is no time zone data in the datetime.now() method. Only the current system time is used. Python has an abstract base class called Tzinfo. It cannot be constructed directly. This abstract class must be descended from in order for a concrete subclass to implement its available methods.

Python DateTime Timezone

When displaying time according to a certain region's timezone, DateTime's timezones feature can be utilized. Python's pytz package may be used for this. This module assists worldwide customer base users by providing date-to-time conversion features.

Here is a list of all the functions this class offers:

List of all Date Class functions

Example 1: Getting the current date and also changing the date to string.

# Python program to
# print current date
 from datetime import date
 # calling the today
# function of date class
today = date.today()
 print("Today's date is," today)
 # Converting the date to the string
Str = date.isoformat(today)
print("String Representation," Str)
print(type(Str))

Output

Today's date is 2021-07-23
String Representation 2021-07-23
<class 'str'>

Conclusion

Python is one of the most popular languages adopted today, and it has numerous uses in cutting-edge fields like data science and analytics. Python is an important skill to have if you want to pursue a career in data science. We really hope you found this tutorial on "datetime in Python" helpful.

FAQs

1. What does a Python datetime mean?

datetime.Datetime: This symbol denotes a time point that includes both the date and the time.

2. How can you change a string into a date and time?

To turn a string into a datetime object in Python, use the datetime- strptime() function.