Python: Get the date of the last Tuesday

Last update on December 31 2024 05:41:44 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

Write a Python program to get the date of the last Tuesday.

Sample Solution:

Python Code:

# Import the date class from the datetime module
from datetime import date
# Import the timedelta class from the datetime module
from datetime import timedelta

# Get the current date and assign it to the variable 'today'
today = date.today()

# Calculate the offset needed to go back to the most recent Tuesday
# This is done by finding the difference between the current weekday and Tuesday (1), and taking modulo 7
offset = (today.weekday() - 1) % 7

# Calculate the date of the most recent Tuesday by subtracting the offset from the current date
last_tuesday = today - timedelta(days=offset)

# Print the date of the most recent Tuesday
print(last_tuesday) 

Output:

2017-05-02 

Explanation:

In the exercise above,

• The code imports the "date" class and the "timedelta" class from the "datetime" module.
• Get current date:
• It retrieves the current date using the "date.today()" method and assigns it to the variable 'today'.
• Calculating Offset for most recent Tuesday:
• It calculates the offset needed to go back to the most recent Tuesday from the current date.
• This is done by finding the difference between the current weekday (today.weekday()) and Tuesday (1, where Monday is 0), then taking modulo 7 to ensure the offset loops back to Tuesday if the current day is Tuesday.
• Find the most recent Tuesday:
• It calculates the date of the most recent Tuesday by subtracting the calculated offset from the current date using "timedelta(days=offset)".
• Finally it prints the date of the most recent Tuesday.

Flowchart:

Python Code Editor:

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