os.rename a file to current date in python?

Question

I'm trying to create a zipped archive directory containing files. This will be done daily so the name of the archive directory must include the date it was created. I'm unable to rename the directory once it is created due to an incorrect syntax. Below is the script I am using:

import zipfile

print('creating archive')
zf = zipfile.ZipFile('archive.zip', mode='w')
try:
    print('adding udp files')
    zf.write('test.udp')
finally:
    print ('closing')
    zf.close()
print('renaming archive...')
import datetime
dt = str(datetime.datetime.now())
import os
newname = 'file_'+dt+'.zip'
os.rename('archive.zip', newname)
print('renaming complete...')

Below is the error message I am receiving:

Traceback (most recent call last): File ".\archive.py", line 17, in os.rename('archive.zip',newname) WindowsError: [Error 123] The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect

I'm using python 3.2. Please let me know if anything else is required.

Thanks, Paul

Sven Marnach · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-28 15:02:02Z

2

You are trying to rename your archive to something like

file_2012-06-28 16:01:52.615855.zip

On Windows, : is not a valid character in a filename, so you need to choose a different format, e.g. you could include the date only:

>>> datetime.date.today().isoformat()
'2012-06-28'

answered Jun 28, 2012 at 15:02

Sven Marnach

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