24. Python Dates and Time

Getting the Current Date and Time

To get the current exact moment in time, use the now() method from the datetime class inside the datetime module.

The date contains year, month, day, hour, minute, second, and microsecond.

Creating a Custom Date Object

To create a specific date, you can use the datetime() constructor class. It requires three mandatory integer parameters: year, month, day. You can optionally pass hours, minutes, seconds, and microseconds (which default to 0).

Extracting Date Components

Once you have a datetime object, you can easily extract specific pieces of information from it using its properties.

The strftime() Method (Formatting Dates)

The strftime() method takes a datetime object and formats it into a human-readable string based on a format code. This is how you change "2026-05-22" into "May 22, 2026".

There are many format codes. For example: %m (Month as a number 01-12), %H (Hour 00-23), %M (Minute 00-59).

The strptime() Method (Parsing Strings to Dates)

Often, you will receive a date as a text string (e.g., from a CSV file or an API) and need to convert it into a true datetime object. You do this using strptime() (string parse time). You must tell Python the exact format the string is currently in.

Time Math with timedelta

You cannot simply add an integer like `+ 5` to a date object to jump forward 5 days. Instead, you use the timedelta object, which represents a duration of time.