t = e['updated_parsed']
dt = datetime.datetime(t[0],t[1],t[2],t[3],t[4],t[5],t[6]
print dt
>>>2010-01-28 08:39:49.000003
How do I turn that into a string?:
"January 28, 2010"
9 Answers
The datetime class has a method strftime. The Python docs documents the different formats it accepts: strftime() and strptime() Behavior
For this specific example, it would look something like:
my_datetime.strftime("%B %d, %Y")
Comments
Here is how you can accomplish the same using python's general formatting function...
>>>from datetime import datetime
>>>"{:%B %d, %Y}".format(datetime.now())
The formatting characters used here are the same as those used by strftime. Don't miss the leading : in the format specifier.
Using format() instead of strftime() in most cases can make the code more readable, easier to write and consistent with the way formatted output is generated...
>>>"{} today's date is: {:%B %d, %Y}".format("Andre", datetime.now())
Compare the above with the following strftime() alternative...
>>>"{} today's date is {}".format("Andre", datetime.now().strftime("%B %d, %Y"))
Moreover, the following is not going to work...
>>>datetime.now().strftime("%s %B %d, %Y" % "Andre")
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<pyshell#11>", line 1, in <module>
datetime.now().strftime("%s %B %d, %Y" % "Andre")
TypeError: not enough arguments for format string
And so on...
3 Comments
Andre
I've been wondering what are the benefits to using format() for this case, over strftime(). Does either method present a benefit other than personal preference? What are the performance differences?
Sandeep Datta
@Andre Thanks for your question! Personal preferences are often guided by experience. Please see my updated answer for why I prefer format() over strftime(). Performance and Python are two words which do not go well together. I wouldn't be overly concerned with performance if I have decided to use Python. When I need performance I use some statically typed high performance language.
ChaimG
The format method is simpler in most cases. Compare:
print 'Today is {:%B %d, %Y}'.format(datetime.now()) to print 'Today is {}'.format(datetime.now().strftime('%B %d, %Y'). When you are using the format() method anyways, why not use it for the date formatting too?Using f-strings, in Python 3.6+.
from datetime import datetime
date_string = f'{datetime.now():%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S%z}'
date_string
# returns '2024-01-15 23:58:18'
LogTimeFormat = f'{datetime.utcnow():%Y%m%d_%H%M%S}'
LogTimeFormat
# returns time in UTC '20240116_055907'
1 Comment
JayRizzo
Thank you! and let's not forget our admins.
LogTimeFormat = f'{datetime.utcnow():%Y%m%d_%H%M%S}'very old question, i know. but with the new f-strings (starting from python 3.6) there are fresh options. so here for completeness:
from datetime import datetime
dt = datetime.now()
# str.format
strg = '{:%B %d, %Y}'.format(dt)
print(strg) # July 22, 2017
# datetime.strftime
strg = dt.strftime('%B %d, %Y')
print(strg) # July 22, 2017
# f-strings in python >= 3.6
strg = f'{dt:%B %d, %Y}'
print(strg) # July 22, 2017
strftime() and strptime() Behavior explains what the format specifiers mean.
answered Jul 22, 2017 at 12:32
hiro protagonist
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Comments
Python datetime object has a method attribute, which prints in readable format.
>>> a = datetime.now()
>>> a.ctime()
'Mon May 21 18:35:18 2018'
>>>
1 Comment
Mujeeb Ishaque
This is one of the best, easiest and quickest ways to get the DateTime in a readable format.
Read strfrtime from the official docs.
Comments
For those who are impatient to read the nice official docs strftime :)
from datetime import datetime
datetime.now().strftime("%H:%M %B %d, %Y")
'12:11 August 08, 2022'
Comments
To get a string that respects the locale, you can use %c.
import datetime
import locale
locale.setlocale(locale.LC_TIME, "de_DE")
now = datetime.datetime.now()
now.strftime("%c")
"Mi 26 Jun 17:17:23 2024"
Reference: strftime() and strptime() Format Codes
Comments
This is for format the date?
def format_date(day, month, year):
# {} betekent 'plaats hier stringvoorstelling van volgend argument'
return "{}/{}/{}".format(day, month, year)
dt = datetime.datetime(*t[:7])