?️ Python Dates

⚡ Quick Overview

Python provides the datetime module to work with dates and times. Using this module, you can: get the current date and time, create specific date objects (like birthdays), access individual components (year, month, day), format dates into readable strings, and perform date arithmetic such as adding days or finding the difference between two dates.

? Key Concepts

• datetime module – main module for handling dates and times in Python.
• datetime.datetime – represents both date and time together.
• datetime.date – represents only a date (year, month, day).
• datetime.timedelta – represents a duration or difference between two dates/times.
• strftime() – formats a date/time object into a readable string.
• date.today() and datetime.now() – get the current date or current date & time.

? Syntax and Theory

To use dates in Python, you first import the built-in datetime module. From this module you can create objects of type date, datetime, and use timedelta to do arithmetic (add/subtract days, weeks, seconds, etc.).

Once you have a date or datetime object, you can access attributes like year, month, and day, and you can format it using strftime(format_string) where the format string uses special codes like %Y (year), %m (month), %d (day), %A (weekday name), etc.

? Code Examples

? Importing datetime Module

import datetime

current_time = datetime.datetime.now()
print(current_time)  # e.g., 2025-09-11 20:45:00.123456

? Creating Date Objects

import datetime

# year, month, day
birthday = datetime.date(1995, 7, 20)
print(birthday)  # 1995-07-20

⏰ Accessing Date Components

import datetime

today = datetime.datetime.now()
print(today.year)   # 2025
print(today.month)  # 9
print(today.day)    # 11

? Formatting Dates with strftime()

Use the strftime() method to format dates into readable strings.

import datetime

today = datetime.datetime.now()
print(today.strftime("%A, %d %B %Y"))
# Example: Thursday, 11 September 2025

➕➖ Date Arithmetic with timedelta

import datetime

today = datetime.date.today()  # get today's date
tomorrow = today + datetime.timedelta(days=1)  # add one day
yesterday = today - datetime.timedelta(days=1)  # subtract one day

# display today, tomorrow, and yesterday
print("Today:", today)
print("Tomorrow:", tomorrow)
print("Yesterday:", yesterday)

⏳ Measuring Time Difference

import datetime

start = datetime.datetime(2025, 1, 1)  # start date
end = datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31)  # end date

difference = end - start  # time difference as timedelta
print("Days between:", difference.days)  # print number of days

? Live Output / Explanation

? Use Cases

• Building countdowns (e.g., days left until exams or New Year).
• Logging events with accurate timestamps.
• Scheduling tasks or reminders on specific dates.
• Calculating age, membership duration, or project deadlines.