Python – Convert String to DateTime and Vice-Versa

In this tutorial, we will learn Python programs to convert a given string to datetime and vice-versa.

Convert String to DateTime

Examples:

Input : Dec 4 2018 10:07AM 
Output : 2018-12-04 10:07:00

Input : Jun 12 2013 5:30PM 
Output : 2013-06-12 17:30:00

strptime() is available in datetime and time modules and is used for Date-Time Conversion. This function changes the given string of datetime into the desired format.

Syntax:

datetime.strptime(date_string, format)

The arguments date_string and format should be of string type.

import datetime
# Function to convert string to datetime
def convert(date_time):
	format = '%b %d %Y %I:%M%p' # The format
	datetime_str = datetime.datetime.strptime(date_time, format)
	return datetime_str

# Driver code
date_time = 'Dec 4 2018 10:07AM'
print(convert(date_time))

Output:

2018-12-04 10:07:00

Convert DateTime to String

Examples:

Input : 2018-12-04 10:07:00  
Output : Dec 4 2018 10:07:00AM 

Input : 2013-06-12 17:30:00 
Output : Jun 12 2013 5:30:00PM 

Python strftime() function is present in datetime and time modules to create a string representation based on the specified format string.

Syntax:

datetime_object.strftime(format_str)

Another similar function is available in time module which converts a tuple or struct_time object to a string as specified by the format argument.

import time
# Function to convert string to datetime
def convert(datetime_str):
	datetime_str = time.mktime(datetime_str)
	format = "%b %d %Y %r" # The format
	dateTime = time.strftime(format, time.gmtime(datetime_str))
	return dateTime

# Driver code
date_time = (2018, 12, 4, 10, 7, 00, 1, 48, 0)
print(convert(date_time))

Output:

Dec 04 2018 10:07:00 AM