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Python: Convert a date to Unix timestamp

Python Datetime: Exercise-35 with Solution

Write a Python program to convert a date to a Unix timestamp.

Sample Solution:

Python Code:

# Import the datetime module
import datetime
# Import the time module
import time
# Create a datetime object representing February 25, 2016, at 23:23 (11:23 PM)
dt = datetime.datetime(2016, 2, 25, 23, 23)
# Print an empty line
print()
# Print the Unix timestamp corresponding to the datetime object 'dt'
print("Unix Timestamp: ",(time.mktime(dt.timetuple())))
# Print an empty line
print()

Output:

Unix Timestamp:  1456422780.0 

Explanation:

In the exercise above,

  • The code imports the "datetime" module, which provides classes for manipulating dates and times.
  • It also imports the "time" module, which provides functions for working with time-related tasks.
  • It creates a "datetime" object named "dt" representing the date and time February 25, 2016, at 11:23 PM (23:23).
  • It calculates the Unix timestamp corresponding to the "datetime" object "dt" using the "mktime()" function from the "time" module, which converts a "struct_time" object to a Unix timestamp.
  • It prints the Unix timestamp along with a descriptive string indicating what it represents.

Flowchart:

Flowchart: Convert a date to Unix timestamp.

Python Code Editor:

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