46. Python's time Module

Here are 10 Python code snippets that demonstrate the use of the time module, covering various time-related functionalities such as sleeping, measuring elapsed time, formatting time, and more.

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1. Sleeping for a Specified Time

Pausing the program execution for a specified number of seconds.

import time

print("Program starts")
time.sleep(3)  # Pauses for 3 seconds
print("Program resumes after 3 seconds")

This will make the program pause for 3 seconds before resuming execution.

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2. Measuring Elapsed Time with time.time()

Using time.time() to measure the elapsed time between two points in the program.

import time

start_time = time.time()

# Some time-consuming task
time.sleep(2)

end_time = time.time()
elapsed_time = end_time - start_time
print(f"Elapsed time: {elapsed_time} seconds")

This example measures the time taken for a sleep period of 2 seconds.

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3. Formatting Current Time with time.strftime()

Formatting the current time as a human-readable string.

import time

current_time = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", time.localtime())
print("Current time:", current_time)

This will print the current date and time in the format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.

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4. Converting Time to Seconds with time.mktime()

Converting a struct_time to seconds since the epoch.

import time

time_tuple = time.localtime()  # Current local time as struct_time
seconds_since_epoch = time.mktime(time_tuple)
print(f"Seconds since epoch: {seconds_since_epoch}")

This converts the current time to the number of seconds since the Unix epoch.

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5. Getting the Current Time in Epoch Format

Getting the current time in seconds since the Unix epoch.

import time

epoch_time = time.time()
print(f"Current epoch time: {epoch_time}")

This prints the current time in seconds since January 1, 1970.

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6. Pausing Program for User Input Delay

Pausing the program until the user presses a key.

import time

print("Press Enter to continue...")
time.sleep(2)
input("Press Enter to continue after delay.")

This introduces a delay before accepting user input.

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7. Time-based Loop (Periodic Tasks)

Running a periodic task every 2 seconds.

import time

for i in range(5):
    print(f"Task {i+1} started")
    time.sleep(2)  # Sleep for 2 seconds between tasks

This example runs a task every 2 seconds.

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8. Get the Time in Different Time Zones

Using time and pytz module (if installed) to get the time in different time zones.

import time
import pytz

timezone = pytz.timezone("US/Eastern")
eastern_time = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", time.localtime())
print(f"Time in US Eastern: {eastern_time}")

This shows how you could use time with pytz for time zone handling.

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9. Calculating Execution Time Using time.perf_counter()

Using time.perf_counter() for precise time measurements.

import time

start_time = time.perf_counter()

# Simulate some task
time.sleep(1.5)

end_time = time.perf_counter()
elapsed_time = end_time - start_time
print(f"Elapsed time: {elapsed_time} seconds")

time.perf_counter() provides a high-resolution timer to measure short durations accurately.

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10. Getting the Current Time in UTC

Getting the current time in UTC format.

import time

utc_time = time.gmtime()
formatted_time = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", utc_time)
print(f"Current UTC time: {formatted_time}")

This will print the current time in UTC, formatted as YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.

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These examples showcase how you can work with time-related functionality in Python, including sleeping, measuring time intervals, formatting time, and working with different time zones.