? Python datetime Module

⚡ Quick Overview

The datetime module in Python lets you work with dates, times, and combined date-time values. You can:

Get the current date and time.
Create specific date, time, or datetime objects.
Add or subtract time using timedelta.
Format datetime objects as strings and parse strings back to datetime.

? Key Concepts

date – only the calendar date (year, month, day).
time – only the time of day (hour, minute, second, microsecond).
datetime – combination of date and time.

timedelta – difference between two dates/times.
strftime() – format a datetime as a string.
strptime() – parse a string into a datetime.

? Syntax and Components

Common ways to use the datetime module:

import datetime – import the whole module.
datetime.date(year, month, day) – create a date.
datetime.time(hour, minute, second) – create a time.
datetime.datetime(year, month, day, hour, minute, second) – create a full datetime.
datetime.date.today() – get today’s date.
datetime.datetime.now() – get current date and time.
datetime.timedelta(...) – represent a duration for arithmetic.

? Code Examples

? Importing the datetime Module

The datetime module allows you to work with dates and times in Python.

? View Code Example

import datetime
print(datetime.datetime.now())  # Current date and time

? Getting Current Date and Time

? View Code Example

import datetime

today = datetime.date.today()
print(today)                 # YYYY-MM-DD

now = datetime.datetime.now()
print(now)                   # YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.mmmmmm

? Creating Specific Date and Time

? View Code Example

import datetime

my_date = datetime.date(2025, 9, 11)
my_time = datetime.time(14, 30, 0)
my_datetime = datetime.datetime(2025, 9, 11, 14, 30, 0)

print(my_date)       # Date: 2025-09-11
print(my_time)       # Time: 14:30:00
print(my_datetime)   # Full datetime object

? Date and Time Arithmetic

? View Code Example

import datetime
from datetime import timedelta

delta = timedelta(days=5, hours=3)                     # 5 days and 3 hours duration
future_date = datetime.datetime.now() + delta          # Date-time in the future
past_date = datetime.datetime.now() - delta            # Date-time in the past

print(future_date)                                     # Future date and time
print(past_date)                                       # Past date and time

? Formatting Dates and Times

? View Code Example

import datetime

now = datetime.datetime.now()
formatted = now.strftime("%A, %d %B %Y %I:%M %p")
print(formatted)   # e.g., Thursday, 11 September 2025 02:30 PM

⏱ Parsing Strings to datetime

? View Code Example

import datetime

date_str = "2025-09-11 14:30:00"                                # Input date-time as string
parsed_date = datetime.datetime.strptime(date_str, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")   # Convert string to datetime
print(parsed_date)                                               # Parsed datetime object

? Live Output and Explanation

? What the Outputs Look Like

datetime.date.today() might print something like 2025-09-11.
datetime.datetime.now() might print 2025-09-11 14:30:15.123456.
strftime("%A, %d %B %Y %I:%M %p") could give Thursday, 11 September 2025 02:30 PM.
timedelta arithmetic changes the date/time by the specified amount (days, hours, etc.).
strptime() converts a properly formatted string into a real datetime object you can use in calculations.

✅ Tips

Use datetime.datetime.now() for current date and time.
Use strftime() to format datetime objects as strings.
Use strptime() to parse strings into datetime objects.
timedelta helps in date arithmetic (adding or subtracting time).

? Practice Tasks

Get the current date and time and format it as "DD/MM/YYYY HH:MM".
Create a datetime object for your next birthday.
Add 10 days and 5 hours to the current date and print the result.
Parse the string "2025-12-25 10:00:00" to a datetime object using strptime().