Python datetime strptime Function

The datetime.strptime function in Python's datetime module parses a string representing a date and/or time according to a specified format and returns a datetime object. This function is useful for converting formatted date and time strings into datetime objects.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. datetime.strptime Function Syntax
  3. Examples
    • Basic Usage
    • Parsing Different Date and Time Formats
  4. Real-World Use Case
  5. Conclusion

Introduction

The datetime.strptime function in Python's datetime module converts a string representing a date and/or time to a datetime object according to a specified format. This is useful for parsing date and time information from strings.

datetime.strptime Function Syntax

Here is how you use the datetime.strptime function:

from datetime import datetime
datetime_object = datetime.strptime(date_string, format)

Parameters:

  • date_string: The string representing the date and/or time.
  • format: The format string that specifies how the date and time are represented in the string. This should correspond to the structure of the date string.

Returns:

  • A datetime object representing the parsed date and time.

Common Format Codes:

  • %Y: Year with century (e.g., 2024)
  • %m: Month as a zero-padded decimal number (e.g., 07)
  • %d: Day of the month as a zero-padded decimal number (e.g., 20)
  • %H: Hour (24-hour clock) as a zero-padded decimal number (e.g., 15)
  • %M: Minute as a zero-padded decimal number (e.g., 43)
  • %S: Second as a zero-padded decimal number (e.g., 06)
  • %A: Full weekday name (e.g., Saturday)
  • %B: Full month name (e.g., July)

Examples

Basic Usage

Here is an example of how to use datetime.strptime.

Example

from datetime import datetime

# Parsing a formatted date string
date_string = "2024-07-20 15:43:06"
parsed_datetime = datetime.strptime(date_string, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
print("Parsed datetime:", parsed_datetime)

Output:

Parsed datetime: 2024-07-20 15:43:06

Parsing Different Date and Time Formats

This example shows how to parse date strings in different formats.

Example

from datetime import datetime

# Parsing a date string with a different format
date_string = "20/07/2024 15:43:06"
parsed_datetime = datetime.strptime(date_string, "%d/%m/%Y %H:%M:%S")
print("Parsed datetime:", parsed_datetime)

# Parsing another date string with month name and day of the week
date_string = "Saturday July 20 15:43:06 2024"
parsed_datetime = datetime.strptime(date_string, "%A %B %d %H:%M:%S %Y")
print("Parsed datetime:", parsed_datetime)

Output:

Parsed datetime: 2024-07-20 15:43:06
Parsed datetime: 2024-07-20 15:43:06

Real-World Use Case

Parsing Log Timestamps

In real-world applications, the datetime.strptime function can be used to parse timestamps from log files and convert them into structured datetime objects for further processing.

Example

from datetime import datetime

def parse_log_timestamp(log_line):
    timestamp_str = log_line.split(' - ')[0]
    return datetime.strptime(timestamp_str, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")

# Example usage
log_line = "2024-07-20 15:43:06 - Event: Start process"
parsed_timestamp = parse_log_timestamp(log_line)
print("Parsed timestamp:", parsed_timestamp)

Output:

Parsed timestamp: 2024-07-20 15:43:06

Conclusion

The datetime.strptime function converts a string representing a date and/or time according to a specified format into a datetime object. This is useful for parsing date and time information from strings, making it especially helpful for interpreting and displaying time data in applications.

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