Python Time strftime Function

The strftime function in Python's time module formats a struct_time object or a tuple representing a time as a string according to a specified format. This function is useful for creating human-readable representations of time and date.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. strftime Function Syntax
3. Examples
   • Basic Usage
   • Formatting Current Time
4. Real-World Use Case
5. Conclusion

Introduction

The strftime function in Python's time module converts a struct_time object or a tuple representing time to a formatted string. This is useful for displaying time and date information in a human-readable format.

strftime Function Syntax

Here is how you use the strftime function:

import time
time.strftime(format, t)

Parameters:

• format: A string specifying the desired format of the output. It can include various format codes to represent different parts of the date and time.
• t: An optional struct_time object or a tuple representing time. If not provided, the current time is used.

Returns:

• A string representing the formatted time.

Common Format Codes:

• %Y: Year with century (e.g., 2021)
• %m: Month as a zero-padded decimal number (e.g., 08)
• %d: Day of the month as a zero-padded decimal number (e.g., 17)
• %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., Tuesday)
• %B: Full month name (e.g., August)

Examples

Basic Usage

Here is an example of how to use strftime.

Example

import time

# Creating a struct_time object representing a specific time
time_struct = time.struct_time((2021, 8, 17, 15, 43, 6, 1, 229, 1))

# Formatting the time as a string
formatted_time = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", time_struct)
print("Formatted time:", formatted_time)

Output:

Formatted time: 2021-08-17 15:43:06

Formatting Current Time

This example shows how to format the current time as a string using strftime.

Example

import time

# Getting the current local time as a struct_time object
current_time_struct = time.localtime()

# Formatting the current time as a string
formatted_current_time = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", current_time_struct)
print("Current formatted time:", formatted_current_time)

Output:

Current formatted time: 2024-07-23 20:33:47

Real-World Use Case

Creating Timestamps for Logging

In real-world applications, the strftime function can be used to create formatted timestamps for logging events.

Example

import time

def log_event(event):
    current_time_struct = time.localtime()
    timestamp = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", current_time_struct)
    print(f"[{timestamp}] Event: {event}")

# Example usage
log_event("Start process")
time.sleep(2)
log_event("End process")

Output:

[2024-07-23 20:33:47] Event: Start process
[2024-07-23 20:33:49] Event: End process

Conclusion

The strftime function in Python's time module formats a struct_time object or a tuple representing time as a string according to a specified format, making it useful for creating human-readable representations of time and date.