The strftime() function converts a datetime object (representing the current date and time) into a string based on a specified format.
Example 1: datetime to string
Visual Representation
from datetime import datetime
# Create a datetime object
current_date_time = datetime.now()
print(current_date_time)
print(type(current_date_time))
# Specify the format for the string
format = "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"
# Convert the datetime object to a string
datetime_string = current_date_time.strftime(format)
print(datetime_string)
print(type(datetime_string))
Output
2023-10-18 21:18:57.148694
<class 'datetime.datetime'>
2023-10-18 21:18:57
<class 'str'>
Example 2: Extracting and Formatting Individual Date and Time
Current day
Current month
Current year
Current time
Current date and time
from datetime import datetime
# current date and time
current_date_time = datetime.now()
# current day
day = current_date_time.strftime("%d")
print("day:", day)
# current month
month = current_date_time.strftime("%m")
print("month:", month)
# current year
year = current_date_time.strftime("%Y")
print("year:", year)
# current time
time = current_date_time.strftime("%H:%M:%S")
print("time:", time)
# current date and time
date_time = current_date_time.strftime("%m/%d/%Y, %H:%M:%S")
print("date and time:", date_time)
Output
Table of the date and time component
Format Code | Description | Example Output |
---|---|---|
%Y | Year with century | 2023 |
%y | Year without century | 23 |
%m | Month as a zero-padded number | 10 |
%B | Full month name | October |
%b | Abbreviated month name | Oct |
%d | Day of the month as a zero-padded number | 18 |
%A | Full weekday name | Wednesday |
%a | Abbreviated weekday name | Wed |
%H | Hour (24-hour clock) as a zero-padded number | 21 |
%I | Hour (12-hour clock) as a zero-padded number | 09 |
%p | AM or PM | PM |
%M | Minute as a zero-padded number | 18 |
%S | Second as a zero-padded number | 57 |
%Z | Time zone name | IST |
%z | UTC offset | +0530 |
%c | Locale’s appropriate date and time | Wed Oct 18 21:18:57 2023 IST |
%x | Locale’s appropriate date | 10/18/23 |
%X | Locale’s appropriate time | 21:18:57 |