How to Use the Python time mktime() Method
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Contents
In this article, you will learn how to use the Python time mktime() method.
Python time mktime() Method
The mktime() method in Python is used to convert a struct_time object representing a date and time to a Unix timestamp, which is the number of seconds since January 1, 1970, at 00:00:00 UTC. Here’s how you can use the mktime() method:
Import the time module:
import time
Create a struct_time object representing the date and time you want to convert. You can create a struct_time object using the strptime() method from the datetime module. For example, to create a struct_time object representing January 1, 2022, at 12:00:00 AM:
import datetime
dt = datetime.datetime(2022, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0)
struct_time = dt.timetuple()
Call the mktime() method and pass the struct_time object as an argument:
timestamp = time.mktime(struct_time)
The timestamp variable now contains the Unix timestamp representing January 1, 2022, at 12:00:00 AM. You can then use this timestamp for further processing, such as converting it to a human-readable date and time using the strftime() method.
Note that the mktime() method assumes that the struct_time object represents a local time, not UTC time. If you want to convert a UTC time to a Unix timestamp, you should use the calendar.timegm() method instead of mktime().