Contents
Learn how to get the current time in Python by following these simple steps. You’ll also learn how to format the time to display it in a human-readable format.
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Introduction
Python provides a module named time which is very useful for handling time-related tasks. Among other things, this module provides two functions that can be used to get the current time: time.time() and time.clock().
The time.time() function returns the current system time in seconds since the Epoch (January 1st, 1970 at midnight). The Epoch is an arbitrary reference point from which all other times are measured.
The time.clock() function, on the other hand, returns the current CPU time as a floating point number of seconds. Keep in mind that this value is only meaningful if you compare it to the output of another call to time.clock(). For example, you could use it to measure how long a certain operation takes:
“`python
import time
start = time.clock()
# do something here…
elapsed = (time.clock() – start)
print “Operation took %f seconds” % elapsed
“`
The time Module
Python’s time module provides various time-related functions. To get the current time in Python, use the time module.
The time module provides the following functions:
time.time(): Returns the number of seconds since the epoch (January 1, 1970).
time.localtime(): Returns a struct_time object representing the local time.
time.gmtime(): Returns a struct_time object representing the UTC time (Greenwich Mean Time).
The datetime Module
The datetime module has many different methods that can be used to find the current time. To get the current time in Python, you can use the datetime module. This module was first introduced in Python 2.3 and is now a standard module in Python 3. The datetime module has many different methods that can be used to find the current time.
You can also use the time module to get the current time in Python. This module was first introduced in Python 2.0 and is now a standard module in Python 3. The time module has many different functions that can be used to find the current time.
If you just want to get the current timestamp, you can use the time.time() function. This function returns the number of seconds since January 1, 1970 (UTC).
The calendar Module
Python’s calendar module allows you to output calendars and provides additional useful functions for working with dates. To use the calendar module, you first have to import it:
import calendar
There are a number of ways to use the calendar module. The most basic way is to ask it to print out a simple text calendar for a given year:
calendar.prcal(2020)
will print a calendar for the year 2020.
The dateutil Module
The dateutil module provides several functions for dealing with dates and times in Python. It can be used to find the current time, or to convert between different time formats.
To get the current time, you can use the datetime.now() function. This will return a datetime object containing the current date and time:
>>> from datetime import datetime
>>> now = datetime.now()
>>> print(now)
2017-03-02 12:03:45.678910
If you just want the current time, you can use the time() function:
>>> from time import time
>>> now = time()
>>> print(now)
1498811654.725725
The timeit Module
Python’s timeit module is a useful tool for measuring the performance of small pieces of Python code. It can be used to measure the time it takes to run a piece of code, or to compare the performance of different pieces of code.
To use the timeit module, you first need to import it:
import timeit
Then, you can use one of the following functions to measure the time it takes to run a piece of code:
timeit.timeit(stmt, setup, timer, number)
timeit.repeat(stmt, setup, timer, repeat, number)
The first function, timeit.timeit(), will measure the time it takes to run a given statement (stmt) a given number of times (number). The second function, timeit.repeat(), will measure the time it takes to run a given statement a given number of times and return a list of results.
Both functions take an optionalsetup argument which can be used to set up the environment in whichthe code will be run. For example, if you’re timing a piece of code that relies on imported modules,you can use setup to import those modules.
Both functions also take an optionaltimer argument which can be used to specify a timer otherthan the default timer.
The pytz Module
If you want to find the current time in Python, there are a few different ways to do it. You can use the time module, which is part of the standard library, or you can use the pytz module, which is an third-party module.
If you just want to find the current time in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), you can use the time module’s time() function. This will give you the current timestamp in UTC.
If you want to know what the current time is in a specific time zone, you can use the pytz module’s datetime.now() function. This will give you a datetime object that includes both the date and the time, and that is aware of daylight savings time.
The dateutil.tz Module
Python’s dateutil.tz module provides an object-oriented interface for dealing with time zones. The module is based on the Olson database and contains data for over 500 time zones. The tzinfo classes in the module can be used to construct time zone objects that are aware of daylight saving time and other historical changes.
The dateutil.tz module is part of the Python stdlib since version 2.4, so you do not need to install it separately.
The pendulum Module
The pendulum module provides a straightforward way to get the current time in Python. You can use the pendulum module to:
-Get the current time
-Schedule an event for the future
-Find out when an event will happen
-Convert between different time zones
Conclusion
We have seen how to get the current time in Python using the time module. We have also seen how to format the time into a string.
