Working with Dates and Time in Python

Working with dates and time is a common requirement in programming — from logging events to scheduling tasks or analyzing time-based data.

Python provides powerful built-in modules like datetime, time, and calendar to simplify working with temporal data.

The datetime Module

The datetime module combines both date and time in a single class, making it one of the most useful tools for time-based operations.

import datetime

Creating a Date or DateTime Object

import datetime

# Current date and time
now = datetime.datetime.now()
print("Now:", now)

# Only date
today = datetime.date.today()
print("Today:", today)

Creating Custom Dates

import datetime



birthday = datetime.date(1995, 5, 15)
print("Birthday:", birthday)

Accessing Components

print("Year:", today.year)
print("Month:", today.month)
print("Day:", today.day)

Formatting Dates and Times

Python allows you to convert datetime objects into strings and vice versa.

Using strftime() (Format Date → String)

import datetime

now = datetime.datetime.now()
formatted = now.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
print("Formatted:", formatted)

Using strptime() (String → Date)

import datetime

date_str = "2025-10-27"
converted = datetime.datetime.strptime(date_str, "%Y-%m-%d")
print("Converted:", converted)

Python uses a set of format codes with the strftime() method for formatting datetime objects into strings, and with strptime() for parsing strings into datetime objects.

Working with Timedelta

The timedelta class represents the difference between two dates or times — useful for adding or subtracting time.

from datetime import datetime, timedelta

today = datetime.now()
next_week = today + timedelta(days=7)
print("Next Week:", next_week)

Example: Calculate age

from datetime import datetime

birthday = datetime(2000, 6, 15)
age = (datetime.now() - birthday).days // 365
print("Age:", age)

The time Module

The time module handles time-related tasks at a lower level (seconds, timestamps, etc.).

import time

Getting Current Time

import time

print("Current Time (epoch):", time.time())
print("Readable Time:", time.ctime())

Pausing Execution

import time

print("Start")
time.sleep(2)
print("End after 2 seconds")

The calendar Module

The calendar module helps display and manipulate calendar data — like months, weeks, and leap years.

import calendar

Displaying a Month or Year

import calendar

print(calendar.month(2025, 10))   # Displays October 2025
print(calendar.calendar(2025))    # Displays full year calendar

Checking Leap Years

import calendar

print(calendar.isleap(2024))  # True

Getting Weekday of a Given Date

import calendar

day_index = calendar.weekday(2025, 10, 27)
print("Weekday Index:", day_index)   # Weekday Index: 0

Summary

The datetime, time, and calendar modules together provide a complete toolkit for working with dates, times, and schedules in Python.

Whether you're building a reminder app, logging system, or analytics dashboard, understanding these modules will make your time-based operations efficient and accurate.

In the next article, we'll explore Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in Python — diving into classes, objects, inheritance, and encapsulation.