Python Datetime Format

We are examining Python datetime. The lesson today will use examples to better serve the needs of the learners.

Python Datetime

By importing a module called datetime, we can use dates as date objects in Python. In Python, a date is not a distinct data type.

Show the current date utilizing the datetime module:

Example:

import datetime mrx = datetime.datetime.today() print(mrx)

Here is another way to present the current date through the datetime module:

Example:

import datetime mrx = datetime.datetime.now() print(mrx)

Table Of Content-

Python Datetime Format:

Date Output

Python datetime will look like this when we run the code from the example above:

2023-01-13 12:58:16.897746

In addition to the year, month, and day, the date also includes the hour, minute, second, and microsecond.

In the datetime module, there are several methods to provide information about the date object.

The following are some examples, which you will find out more about later in this chapter.

Get the year, month name, and weekday name by providing the following code:

Example:

import datetime mrx = datetime.datetime.now() print(mrx.year) print(mrx.strftime("%B")) print(mrx.strftime("%A"))

Creating Date Objects

By accessing the datetime() class (constructor) of the datetime module, we can make a date utilizing Python datetime.

To generate a date, the datetime() class needs three parameters: year, month, day.

Make a date object as follows:

Example:

import datetime mrx = datetime.datetime(2023, 1, 10, 13, 54, 10) print(mrx)

As well as the time and timezone (hour, minute, second, microsecond, tzone), the datetime() class also accepts optional parameters. They have a default value of 0 (which means no timezone).

strftime() Method

Date objects can be formatted into understandable strings utilizing the Python datetime object.

To determine the format of the returned string, strftime() requires one parameter, format:

The name of the month and day will appear as follows:

Example:

import datetime mrx = datetime.datetime(2023, 1, 11) print(mrx.strftime("%B")) print(mrx.strftime("%A"))

The following is a list of all the valid format codes:

Directive	Overview	Example	Execution
%a	Short version for weekday	Mon	Try it
%A	Complete version, weekday	Monday	Try it
%w	A weekday is a number between 0 and 6 and 0 is a Sunday	1	Try it
%d	01-31 is the 31st day of the month	09	Try it
%b	Short form of the month name	Jan	Try it
%B	Complete form of the month	January	Try it
%m	The month is represented by the number 01-12	01	Try it
%y	A short representation of the year without the century	23	Try it
%Y	The complete form of the year	2023	Try it
%H	Hour 00-23	14	Try it
%I	Hour 00-12	02	Try it
%p	AM/PM	PM	Try it
%M	Minute 00-59	56	Try it
%S	Second 00-59	32	Try it
%f	Microsecond 000000-999999	398654	Try it
%z	UTC offset	+0600
%Z	Timezone	CST
%j	001-366 is the day number of the year	365	Try it
%U	The week number of the year, Sunday as the first day of the week, 00-53	52	Try it
%W	The number of the week, Monday as the first day of the week, 00-53	52	Try it
%c	Date and time in local time zone	Fri Jan 13 16:12:23 2023	Try it
%x	Date in local version	01/13/2023	Try it
%X	Time in local version	16:24:00	Try it
%%	A % character	%	Try it
%G	ISO 8601 year	2023	Try it
%u	ISO 8601 weekday (1-7)	1	Try it
%V	ISO 8601 weeknumber (01-53)	01	Try it