what is Python Date and Time ? Complete Guide with Examples:

✍️Introduction

Python provides powerful tools to work with dates and times.
The most commonly used module is datetime.

The datetime module allows Python programs to create, manipulate, format, and perform calculations with dates and times easily.

Date and time handling is used in:

Logging systems
Attendance & billing systems
Data analysis
Real-time applications

How To Import Date and Time Module :

In Python, the datetime module is used to work with dates, times, and date–time combinations. It is part of Python’s standard library, so no installation is required.

You can import it in different ways depending on your need.


import datetime

Get Current Date and Time:

This code obtains the current system date and time as a single datetime object using the datetime module.

Example:


import datetime
now = datetime.datetime.now()
print(now)

Output:
2026-02-13 11:25:53.445827

"Code executed successfully"

Get Only Date:

This code retrieves the current date from the system using the datetime module.

Example:


import datetime
today = datetime.date.today()
print(today)

Output:
2026-02-13

"Code executed successfully"

Get Only Time:

This code retrieves only the current time (hours, minutes, and seconds) from the system using the datetime module.

Example:


import datetime
time = datetime.datetime.now().time()
print(time)


Output:
11:18:31.974124

"Code executed successfully"

Create a Specific Date:

This code creates a date object representing a specific calendar date using the datetime module.

Example:


import datetime
d = datetime.date(2026, 1, 22)
print(d)


Output:
2026-01-22

"Code executed successfully"

Create Date & Time Together:

This code creates a datetime object that combines a specific date and time into a single value.

Example:


import datetime
dt = datetime.datetime(2026, 1, 22, 10, 30)
print(dt)

Output:
2026-01-22 10:30:00

"Code executed successfully"

Extract Date Components:

This code gets the current date and time and formats it into a readable date (DD-MM-YYYY) and time (HH:MM:SS) using strftime().

Example:


import datetime
now = datetime.datetime.now()

print(now.year)
print(now.month)
print(now.day)
print(now.hour)
print(now.minute)

Output:
2026
2
13
11
1

"Code executed successfully"

Format Date & Time (`strftime()`):

strftime() is used to format a date or time object into a readable string according to a specified format.

Example:


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

Output:
13-02-2026
11:05:18

"Code executed successfully"

Common Format Codes:

Code	Meaning
%d	Day
%m	Month
%Y	Year
%H	Hour
%M	Minute
%S	Second

Convert String to Date (`strptime()`):

strptime() is used to convert a date given as a string into a datetime object by specifying the correct date format.

Example:


import datetime
date_str = "22-01-2026"
date_obj = datetime.datetime.strptime(date_str, "%d-%m-%Y")
print(date_obj)


Output:
2026-01-22 00:00:00

"Code executed successfully"

Time Difference (`timedelta`):

timedelta represents the difference between two dates or times, and it is used to calculate the number of days, seconds, or other time intervals between them.

Example:


import datetime

d1 = datetime.date(2026, 1, 1)
d2 = datetime.date(2026, 1, 10)

diff = d2 - d1
print(diff.days)


Output:
9

"Code executed successfully"

Add or Subtract Days:

This code uses timedelta to add or subtract a specific number of days from a given date.

Example:


from datetime import timedelta, date

today = date.today()
new_date = today + timedelta(days=5)
print(new_date)


Output:
2026-02-18

"Code executed successfully"

Get Weekday:

This code returns the weekday number of the current date, where Monday is 0 and Sunday is 6.

Example:


today = datetime.date.today()
print(today.weekday())   # Monday = 0

Output:
4

"Code executed successfully"

Real-Life Example: Expiry Check.

Example:


import datetime

expiry = datetime.date(2026, 2, 1)
today = datetime.date.today()

if today > expiry:
    print("Expired")
else:
    print("Valid")

Output:
Expired

"Code executed successfully"

❌ Common Mistakes

Forgetting to import datetime
Confusing date and datetime
Wrong format codes

Interview Questions ?

1️⃣ Difference between date and datetime ?

Ans:
date stores only the calendar date (year, month, day), while datetime stores both date and time (year, month, day, hour, minute, second).

2️⃣ What is timedelta?

Ans:
timedelta represents the difference between two dates or times and is used for date and time calculations.

3️⃣ Use of strftime()?

Ans:

strftime() is used to format date and time objects into readable string representations using specified format codes.

Conclusion :

Python date and time handling is essential for real-world applications.
Mastering it helps in data processing, automation, and analytics.

💬 Quick Question

What will be the output?


import datetime
print(datetime.date.today().year)

Comment your answer 👇😊

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