Dates and times are essential components of many applications. Whether you’re building a financial app or a social media platform, chances are high that you will need to handle dates and times at some point. Fortunately, Python has several built-in modules that make working with dates and times easy and intuitive.
This guide aims to introduce you to these modules and show you how to use them effectively.
The datetime Module
Python’s datetime module is the primary tool for handling dates and times. It provides classes for representing dates, times, and durations. Let's start by creating a few objects using this module.
import datetime as dt
# Create a date object
today = dt.date.today()
print(f"Today's date: {today}")
# Create a time object
current_time = dt.time(hour=14, minute=35, second=26)
print(f"Current time: {current_time}")
# Combine date and time into a single datetime object
now = dt.datetime.combine(today, current_time)
print(f"Datetime now: {now}")Output:
Today's date: 2023-03-08
Current time: 14:35:26
Datetime now: 2023-03-08…