Python time strptime() function

The strptime() function in Python is used to format and return a string representation of date and time. It takes in the date, time, or both as an input, and parses it according to the directives given to it. It raises ValueError if the string cannot be formatted according to the provided directives.

Syntax:

time.strptime(date_time_srting,directive)

Here,

• date_time_string: It is a necessary string parameter where the date to be formatted is provided.
• directive: This parameter represents the condition for parsing the given string. It is also a necessary parameter.

Directives Table:

The following tables list the supported directives in python.

format code	meaning	example
%a	Abbreviated weekday name	Sun, Mon
%A	Full weekday name	Sunday, Monday
%w	Weekday as decimal number	0…6
%d	Day of the month as a zero-padded decimal	01, 02
%b	Abbreviated month name	Jan, Feb
%m	month as a zero padded decimal number	01, 02
%B	Full month name	January, February
%y	year without century as a zero padded decimal number	99, 00
%Y	year with century as a decimal number	2000, 1999
%H	hour(24 hour clock) as a zero padded decimal number	01, 23
%I	hour(12 hour clock) as a zero padded decimal number	01, 12
%p	locale’s AM or PM	AM, PM
%M	Minute as a zero padded decimal number	01, 59
%S	Second as a zero padded decimal number	01, 59
%f	microsecond as a decimal number, zero padded on the left side	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, 365
%U	Week number of the year (Sunday being the first)	0, 6
%W	Week number of the year	00, 53
%c	locale’s appropriate date and time representation	Mon Sep 30 07:06:05 2013
%x	locale’s appropriate date representation	11/30/98
%X	locale’s appropriate time representation	10:03:43
%%	A literal ‘%’ character	%

Examples 1: Python string to date

Python3

import time

formatted_date = time.strptime(" 02 Dec 1996",
                               " %d %b %Y")
print(formatted_date)

Output:

time.struct_time(tm_year=1996, tm_mon=12, tm_mday=2, tm_hour=0, tm_min=0, tm_sec=0, tm_wday=0, tm_yday=337, tm_isdst=-1)

Example 2: Python string to date and time

Python3

import time

print(time.strptime("02/12/1996 5:53","%m/%d/%Y %H:%M"))

Output:

time.struct_time(tm_year=1996, tm_mon=2, tm_mday=12, tm_hour=5, tm_min=53, tm_sec=0, tm_wday=0, tm_yday=43, tm_isdst=-1)

Example 3: Value error

In this example, if time directives will not match then occurred error.

Python3

import time as datetime

datetime_str = '08/1/18 3:55:6'

try:
    datetime_object = datetime.strptime(datetime_str, '%m/%d/%y')
except ValueError as e:
    print('ValueError Raised:', e)


time_str = '25::55::26'

try:
    time_object = time.strptime(time_str, '%H::%M::%S')
except ValueError as e:
    print('ValueError:', e)

Output:

ValueError Raised: unconverted data remains:  3:55:6
ValueError: time data '25::55::26' does not match format '%H::%M::%S'