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
When you run the program, the output will be:
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:
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
When you run the program, the output will be:
Format Code List
The table below shows all the format codes that you can use.
Directive | Meaning | Example |
| Abbreviated weekday name. | Sun, Mon, ... |
| Full weekday name. | Sunday, Monday, ... |
| Weekday as a decimal number. | 0, 1, ..., 6 |
| Day of the month as a zero-padded decimal. | 01, 02, ..., 31 |
| Day of the month as a decimal number. | 1, 2, ..., 30 |
| Abbreviated month name. | Jan, Feb, ..., Dec |
| Full month name. | January, February, ... |
| Month as a zero-padded decimal number. | 01, 02, ..., 12 |
| Month as a decimal number. | 1, 2, ..., 12 |
| Year without century as a zero-padded decimal number. | 00, 01, ..., 99 |
| Year without century as a decimal number. | 0, 1, ..., 99 |
| Year with century as a decimal number. | 2013, 2019 etc. |
| Hour (24-hour clock) as a zero-padded decimal number. | 00, 01, ..., 23 |
| Hour (24-hour clock) as a decimal number. | 0, 1, ..., 23 |
| Hour (12-hour clock) as a zero-padded decimal number. | 01, 02, ..., 12 |
| Hour (12-hour clock) as a decimal number. | 1, 2, ... 12 |
| Locale’s AM or PM. | AM, PM |
| Minute as a zero-padded decimal number. | 00, 01, ..., 59 |
| Minute as a decimal number. | 0, 1, ..., 59 |
| Second as a zero-padded decimal number. | 00, 01, ..., 59 |
| Second as a decimal number. | 0, 1, ..., 59 |
| Microsecond as a decimal number, zero-padded on the left. | 000000 - 999999 |
| UTC offset in the form +HHMM or -HHMM. | |
| Time zone name. | |
| Day of the year as a zero-padded decimal number. | 001, 002, ..., 366 |
| Day of the year as a decimal number. | 1, 2, ..., 366 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Locale’s appropriate date and time representation. | Mon Sep 30 07:06:05 2013 |
| Locale’s appropriate date representation. | 09/30/13 |
| 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:
If you run this program, you will get an error.
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