Introduction

Programming is mainly about the efficient handling of time. The most used programming language, Python, has a module called time used in executing all the operations involving time.

The module provides functions in measuring elapsed time, formatting the time and date, and it is also applied in performing calculations pertaining to time. So far, let's dive into more details of the time module and its key functions along with their application on practical examples.

When it comes to coding then, Python code can be compiled using online compilers that are similar to the Python Online Compiler.

Knowledge of the time Module

The time module in Python gives you a collection of functions that work on times and dates. There are three major categories for these functions:

Time Measurement: It has the following functions that measure elapsed time, as well as getting the current time.

Time Conversion: These groups of functions change time values from one format to another and translate values over different time zones.
Time Formatting  The module allows you to convert time and date values to human-readable strings.
 

Time Measurement

 time.time() : Returns the current time as a floating point number, seconds since the epoch (January 1, 1970).
 

Python
import time  
current_time = time.time()
print("Current time:", current_time)
Use code with care .
 time.sleep(seconds): Suspends program execution for the given number of seconds.
 Python
import time  
print("Starting.")
time.sleep(5)
print("Finished!")
Use code with care.

Measure Elapsed Time Record start time, run the code and calculate the elapsed time to determine how long some code takes to run.

Python
import time
start_time = time.time()
#Your code here
end_time = time.time()
elapsed_time = end_time - start_time
print("Elapsed time:", elapsed_time,"seconds")
 
Code Use with Care.

Time Conversion
 
time.localtime(): The function time.localtime() converts the current time (in seconds since the epoch) into a time tuple representing local time.
 
local_time = time.localtime()
print<>("Local time:", local_time)
Code use with care.
#
time.gmtime(): Converts the current time (in seconds since the epoch) to a time tuple of the UTC time.
Python
import time
#
utc_time = time.gmtime()
print ("UTC time:", utc_time)
Code use with care.
#
time.mktime(tuple): Converts a time tuple to a floating-point number representing the time in seconds since the epoch.
Python
import time
#
time_tuple = (2023, 12, 25, 12, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0)
seconds_since_epoch = time.mktime(time_tuple)
print("Seconds since epoch:", seconds_since_epoch)
Use code with care.

 
Date Formatting

time.strftime(format_string, time_tuple): Converts a time tuple into a string, with the format determined by the format_string.
Python
import time
time_tuple = time.localtime()
formatted_time = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", time_tuple)
print("Formatted time:", formatted_time)

Be careful with your code.
 
Format Codes

%Y: Year with century, padded to four digits (e.g. 2023)
%m: Month, padded to two digits (01-12)
%d: Day of month (01-31)
%H: Hour in 24-hour format, padded to two digits (00-23)
%M: Minute, padded to two digits (00-59)
%S: Second, padded to two digits (00-59)
%A: Full weekday name (e.g. Monday)
%B: Full month name (e.g. January)
Running Examples

Simple Stopwatch:

Python
import time
start_time = time.time()
while True:
elapsed_time = time.time() - start_time
print(f"Elapsed time: {elapsed_time:.2f} seconds", end="\r")
time.sleep(0.1)
Code use with care.

Logging Timestamps

Python
from time import time, strftime
#endif
def log(message):
timestamp = strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
print(f"[{timestamp}] {message}")
log("Starting application")
#. your code .
log("Application finished")

Code use with care.

Scheduling Tasks using the sched Module

Python

import time
import sched
\\\\\\\\\\\\end
def print_time():
print(time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"))
scheduler = sched.scheduler(time.time)
scheduler.enter(5, 1, print_time)
scheduler.run()

Use with caution

End

The time module of Python offers tremendous powers on functions concerning the time and date values. Knowledge and proper application of such functions leave the after-effect of making your Python applications more functional while executing a set of tasks concerning the time with surety.

Such functions include measuring elapsed time, formatting dates, and scheduling the execution of tasks, among others-due to their tasks falling within the remit of the time module.