[Tut] How to Convert Epoch Time to Date Time in Python

[Tut] How to Convert Epoch Time to Date Time in Python - Printable Version

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[Tut] How to Convert Epoch Time to Date Time in Python - xSicKxBot - 08-08-2022

How to Convert Epoch Time to Date Time in Python

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Problem Formulation and Solution Overview

In this article, you’ll learn how to convert Epoch Time to a Date Time representation using Python.

On January 1st, 1970, Epoch Time, aka Time 0 for UNIX systems, started as a date in history to remember. This date is relevant, not only due to this event but because it redefined how dates are calculated!

To make it more fun, we will calculate the time elapsed in Epoch Time from its inception on January 1, 1970, to January 1, 1985, when the first mobile phone call was made in Britain by Ernie Wise to Vodafone. This will then be converted to a Date Time representation.

Question: How would we write code to convert an Epoch Date to a Date Time representation?

We can accomplish this task by one of the following options:

Method 1: Use
Code:
datetime.fromtimestamp()
Method 2: Use
Code:
time.localtime()
Method 3: Use
Code:
datetime.utcfromtimestamp()
Method 4: Use
Code:
time.localtime()
and
Code:
time.strftime()

Method 1: Use fromtimestamp()

This method imports the

Code:
datetime

library and calls the associated

Code:
datetime.fromtimestamp()

function to convert Epoch Time into a Local Date Time representation.

To run this code error-free, install the required library. Click here for installation instructions.

Code:
import datetime epoch_time = 473398200
date_conv = datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp(epoch_time)
print(date_conv.strftime('%d-%m-%Y'))

Above, imports the

Code:
datetime

library. This allows the conversion of an Epoch Time integer to a readable Local Date Time format.

The following line declares an Epoch Time integer and saves it to

Code:
epoch_time

.

Next, the highlighted line converts the Epoch Time into a Local Date Time representation and saves it to

Code:
date_conv

. If output to the terminal at this point, it would display as follows:

Code:
1985-01-01 00:00:00

Finally,

Code:
date_conv

converts into a string using

Code:
strftime()

and outputs the formatted date to the terminal.

Code:
01-01-1985

Method 2: Use time.localtime()

This method imports the

Code:
time

library and calls the associated

Code:
time.localtime()

function to convert Epoch Time into a Local Date Time representation.

Code:
import time epoch_time = 473398200
date_conv = time.localtime(epoch_time)
print(date_conv)

Above, imports the

Code:
time

library. This allows the conversion of an Epoch Time to a readable Local Date Time format.

The following line declares an Epoch Time integer and saves it to

Code:
epoch_time

.

Next, the highlighted line converts the Epoch Time into a Local Date Time representation and saves it to

Code:
date_conv

as a Tuple as shown below:

Code:
time.struct_time(tm_year=1985, tm_mon=1, tm_mday=1, tm_hour=0, tm_min=0, tm_sec=0, tm_wday=1, tm_yday=1, tm_isdst=0)

The appropriate elements will need to be accessed to format a date or time. For this example, we will construct the date.

Code:
print(f'0{date_conv[1]}-0{date_conv[2]}-{date_conv[0]}')

The output is as follows:

Code:
01-01-1985

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Method 3: Use datetime.utcfromtimestamp

This method imports the

Code:
datetime

library and calls the associated

Code:
datetime.utcfromtimestamp()

function to convert an Epoch Time into a UTC Date Time representation.

To run this code error-free, install the required library. Click here for installation instructions.

Code:
import datetime epoch_time = 473398200
date_conv = datetime.datetime.utcfromtimestamp(epoch_time).strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')
print(date_conv)

Above, imports the

Code:
datetime

library. This allows the conversion of an Epoch Time integer to a readable UTC Date Time format.

The following line declares an Epoch Time integer and saves it to

Code:
epoch_time

.

Next, the highlighted line accomplishes the following:

Converts an Epoch Time to a UTC Date Format.
Converts to a Date string (
Code:
strftime()
) into the stated format.
Saves the result to
Code:
date_conv
.

The output is sent to the terminal.

Code:
1985-01-01 03:30:00

Note: Universal Time (UTC) is the primary standard 24-hour time clock by which the World regulates clocks and time.

Method 4: Use time.localtime() and time.strftime()

This method imports the

Code:
time

library in conjunction with the

Code:
time.localtime()

and

Code:
time.strftime()

functions to convert Epoch Time into a Local Date Time representation.

Code:
import time epoch_time = 473398200
date_conv = time.strftime('%c', time.localtime(epoch_time))
print('Formatted Date:', date_conv)

Above, imports the

Code:
time

library. This allows the conversion of an Epoch Time to a readable Local Date Time format.

The following line declares an Epoch Time integer and saves it to

Code:
epoch_time

.

Next, the highlighted line converts the Epoch Time into a Local Date Time representation, converts to a string (

Code:
strftime()

) format and saves it to

Code:
date_conv

.

The output is sent to the terminal.

Code:
Formatted Date: Tue Jan 1 00:00:00 1985

Summary

These four (4) methods of converting an Epoch Time to a Date Time representation should give you enough information to select the best one for your coding requirements.

Good Luck & Happy Coding!

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