How to Compare Times in Python Using the Time Library - Step by Step Guide

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  • Thread starter dacruick
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    Python Time
In summary: As of right now I don't have much of a code, but my issue is outside of the rest of my code anyways. I have a function that returns two floats, starttime and endtime.basically what I am doing is this:def compare_times(starttime, endtime):starttime_time = starttimeendtime_time = endtimedt = datetime.now()while starttime < float(dt.strftime('%H')) + float(dt.strftime('%M'))/60 < endttime:starttime_time = starttime_time + dt.time()endtime_time
  • #1
dacruick
1,042
1
Currently I have a program in which I want to compare times. I have

dt = datetime.now()

x = dt.time()

which gives me the current time in Hours:Minutes:Seconds:MicroSeconds.

I also have variables HourStart, MinuteStart, HourEnd,MinuteEnd. Which are the hours and minutes that are the bounds of my program running.

I want to compare times. So I want to convert HourStart MinuteStart etc to time types. So if HourStart = 10 and MinuteStart = 30. I want to represent that as a time type being 10:30:00:000000

any help is appreciated
 
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  • #2
The python datetime docs is full of info and examples. Generally, the docs are the best place to start looking for info on how to do anything.
 
  • #3
dacruick said:
Currently I have a program in which I want to compare times. I have

dt = datetime.now()

x = dt.time()

which gives me the current time in Hours:Minutes:Seconds:MicroSeconds.

I also have variables HourStart, MinuteStart, HourEnd,MinuteEnd. Which are the hours and minutes that are the bounds of my program running.

I want to compare times. So I want to convert HourStart MinuteStart etc to time types. So if HourStart = 10 and MinuteStart = 30. I want to represent that as a time type being 10:30:00:000000

any help is appreciated

Unless I've got the wrong end of the stick, this appears to be very straightforward. Suppose that we have ints start_hour, start_min, end_hour, and end_min. You can construct time objects from these by calling the datetime.time constructor:

Code:
start_time = datetime.time(start_hour, start_min)
end_time  = datetime.time(end_hour, end_min)

You can then compare these to the time portion of a datetime.date object. For instance, if you define dt = datetime.now(), you can determine whether the end time is before now by

Code:
end_time < dt.time()
 
  • #4
You've most likely got it right. I tried that already but I think I was having a lot of trouble with my libraries and how I'm calling my objects. I'll give it a shot
 
  • #5
shoehorn said:
Unless I've got the wrong end of the stick, this appears to be very straightforward. Suppose that we have ints start_hour, start_min, end_hour, and end_min. You can construct time objects from these by calling the datetime.time constructor:

At the top of my program I've got the following libraries

from datetime import *
from time import *

and I did a little program just to test out your suggestion and received the following error:

TypeError: descriptor 'time' requires a 'datetime.datetime' object but received a 'int'
 
  • #6
dacruick said:
At the top of my program I've got the following libraries

from datetime import *
from time import *

and I did a little program just to test out your suggestion and received the following error:

TypeError: descriptor 'time' requires a 'datetime.datetime' object but received a 'int'


This could be one of several things. Could you post your code here so I can have a look?
 
  • #7
shoehorn said:
This could be one of several things. Could you post your code here so I can have a look?

As of right now I don't have much of a code, but my issue is outside of the rest of my code anyways. I have a function that returns two floats, starttime and endtime.

basically what I am doing is this:

from datetime import *

dt=datetime.now()

while starttime < float(dt.strftime('%H')) + float(dt.strftime('%M')/60) < endttime:

so what I want to do is convert all of those floats into a datetime, for a more seemless comparison. thanks
 
  • #8
I was able to use dt.time() to convert it to something like hours:minutes:seconds.microseconds, which works well for my purposes. But its quite annoying when i try to convert my floats into time format. thanks again.
 

FAQ: How to Compare Times in Python Using the Time Library - Step by Step Guide

1. How do I import the time library in Python?

To import the time library in Python, you can use the following syntax: import time. This will allow you to access all the functions and methods available in the time library.

2. How do I get the current time using the time library in Python?

To get the current time in Python, you can use the time.time() function. This function returns the number of seconds since the epoch, which is January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. You can then use this timestamp to compare times or perform other time-related calculations.

3. How do I compare times in Python using the time library?

To compare times in Python, you can use the time.ctime() function to convert the timestamp into a readable format. Then, you can use comparison operators such as ==, <, >, etc. to compare the times.

4. How do I convert a time string into a timestamp in Python?

You can use the time.strptime() function to convert a time string into a timestamp in Python. This function takes in two parameters - the time string and the format of the time string. It then returns a time struct, which can be converted into a timestamp using the time.mktime() function.

5. Can I compare times from different time zones using the time library in Python?

Yes, you can compare times from different time zones in Python by using the datetime module along with the pytz library. This will allow you to create datetime objects with specific time zones and then compare them using the methods available in the datetime module.

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