Python tutorials for Business Analyst – Python strptime()

(Python Tutorial – 045)

Python strptime()

In this article, you will learn to create a datetime object from a string (with the help of examples).

The strptime() method creates a datetime object from the given string.

Note: You cannot create datetime object from every string. The string needs to be in a certain format.

 


Example 1: string to datetime object

from datetime import datetime

date_string = "21 June, 2018"

print("date_string =", date_string)
print("type of date_string =", type(date_string))

date_object = datetime.strptime(date_string, "%d %B, %Y")

print("date_object =", date_object)
print("type of date_object =", type(date_object))

When you run the program, the output will be:


date_string = 21 June, 2018
type of date_string = <class 'str'>
date_object = 2018-06-21 00:00:00
type of date_object = <class 'datetime.datetime'>

How strptime() works?

The strptime() class method takes two arguments:

  • string (that be converted to datetime)
  • format code

Based on the string and format code used, the method returns its equivalent datetime object.

In the above example:

How strptime() works in Python?

Here,

  • %d – Represents the day of the month. Example: 01, 02, …, 31
  • %B – Month’s name in full. Example: January, February etc.
  • %Y – Year in four digits. Example: 2018, 2019 etc.

Example 2: string to datetime object

from datetime import datetime

dt_string = "12/11/2018 09:15:32"

# Considering date is in dd/mm/yyyy format
dt_object1 = datetime.strptime(dt_string, "%d/%m/%Y %H:%M:%S")
print("dt_object1 =", dt_object1)

# Considering date is in mm/dd/yyyy format
dt_object2 = datetime.strptime(dt_string, "%m/%d/%Y %H:%M:%S")
print("dt_object2 =", dt_object2)

When you run the program, the output will be:

dt_object1 = 2018-11-12 09:15:32
dt_object2 = 2018-12-11 09:15:32

Format Code List

The table below shows all the format codes that you can use.

Directive Meaning Example
%a Abbreviated weekday name. Sun, Mon, …
%A Full weekday name. Sunday, Monday, …
%w Weekday as a decimal number. 0, 1, …, 6
%d Day of the month as a zero-padded decimal. 01, 02, …, 31
%-d Day of the month as a decimal number. 1, 2, …, 30
%b Abbreviated month name. Jan, Feb, …, Dec
%B Full month name. January, February, …
%m Month as a zero-padded decimal number. 01, 02, …, 12
%-m Month as a decimal number. 1, 2, …, 12
%y Year without century as a zero-padded decimal number. 00, 01, …, 99
%-y Year without century as a decimal number. 0, 1, …, 99
%Y Year with century as a decimal number. 2013, 2019 etc.
%H Hour (24-hour clock) as a zero-padded decimal number. 00, 01, …, 23
%-H Hour (24-hour clock) as a decimal number. 0, 1, …, 23
%I Hour (12-hour clock) as a zero-padded decimal number. 01, 02, …, 12
%-I Hour (12-hour clock) as a decimal number. 1, 2, … 12
%p Locale’s AM or PM. AM, PM
%M Minute as a zero-padded decimal number. 00, 01, …, 59
%-M Minute as a decimal number. 0, 1, …, 59
%S Second as a zero-padded decimal number. 00, 01, …, 59
%-S Second as a decimal number. 0, 1, …, 59
%f Microsecond as a decimal number, zero-padded on the left. 000000 – 999999
%z UTC offset in the form +HHMM or -HHMM.
%Z Time zone name.
%j Day of the year as a zero-padded decimal number. 001, 002, …, 366
%-j Day of the year as a decimal number. 1, 2, …, 366
%U Week number of the year (Sunday as the first day of the week). All days in a new year preceding the first Sunday are considered to be in week 0. 00, 01, …, 53
%W Week number of the year (Monday as the first day of the week). All days in a new year preceding the first Monday are considered to be in week 0. 00, 01, …, 53
%c Locale’s appropriate date and time representation. Mon Sep 30 07:06:05 2013
%x Locale’s appropriate date representation. 09/30/13
%X Locale’s appropriate time representation. 07:06:05
%% A literal ‘%’ character. %

ValueError in strptime()

If the string (first argument) and the format code (second argument) passed to the strptime() doesn’t match, you will get ValueError. For example:

from datetime import datetime

date_string = "12/11/2018"
date_object = datetime.strptime(date_string, "%d %m %Y")

print("date_object =", date_object)

If you run this program, you will get an error.

ValueError: time data '12/11/2018' does not match format '%d %m %Y'

Personal Career & Learning Guide for Data Analyst, Data Engineer and Data Scientist

Applied Machine Learning & Data Science Projects and Coding Recipes for Beginners

A list of FREE programming examples together with eTutorials & eBooks @ SETScholars

95% Discount on “Projects & Recipes, tutorials, ebooks”

Projects and Coding Recipes, eTutorials and eBooks: The best All-in-One resources for Data Analyst, Data Scientist, Machine Learning Engineer and Software Developer

Topics included: Classification, Clustering, Regression, Forecasting, Algorithms, Data Structures, Data Analytics & Data Science, Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Programming Languages and Software Tools & Packages.
(Discount is valid for limited time only)

Disclaimer: The information and code presented within this recipe/tutorial is only for educational and coaching purposes for beginners and developers. Anyone can practice and apply the recipe/tutorial presented here, but the reader is taking full responsibility for his/her actions. The author (content curator) of this recipe (code / program) has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information was correct at time of publication. The author (content curator) does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from accident, negligence, or any other cause. The information presented here could also be found in public knowledge domains.

Learn by Coding: v-Tutorials on Applied Machine Learning and Data Science for Beginners

Please do not waste your valuable time by watching videos, rather use end-to-end (Python and R) recipes from Professional Data Scientists to practice coding, and land the most demandable jobs in the fields of Predictive analytics & AI (Machine Learning and Data Science).

The objective is to guide the developers & analysts to “Learn how to Code” for Applied AI using end-to-end coding solutions, and unlock the world of opportunities!