5 Best Ways to Get Seconds in Python

💡 Problem Formulation: You are working in Python and need to know how to get the current number of seconds. The task is to extract seconds from the current time or a specific time object. For instance, if the current time is 3:45:30 PM, you may want to retrieve ’30’ as the number of seconds.

Method 1: Using time module

This method utilizes Python’s standard library module time to get the current time in seconds. The localtime() function from the time module returns a time object, from which you can access the tm_sec attribute to get the current seconds.

Here’s an example:

import time

current_time = time.localtime()
current_seconds = current_time.tm_sec
print(current_seconds)

Output: 30

The code snippet uses the time.localtime() function to fetch the current time broken down into attributes, and then it accesses the tm_sec to retrieve the current seconds.

Method 2: Using datetime module

The datetime library in Python can be used to work with dates and times. By calling the datetime.now() function, you obtain a datetime object, which includes seconds that can be accessed using second property.

Here’s an example:

from datetime import datetime

now = datetime.now()
current_seconds = now.second
print(current_seconds)

Output: 30

This code snippet achieves the goal by creating a datetime object representing the current moment and then extracting the second attribute to obtain the current number of seconds.

Method 3: Using time.strptime()

If you have a time in string format, the time.strptime() function allows you to parse it into a time object, which can then be used to get the seconds. The function requires the time string and its corresponding format.

Here’s an example:

import time

time_string = "15:45:30"
parsed_time = time.strptime(time_string, "%H:%M:%S")
seconds = parsed_time.tm_sec
print(seconds)

Output: 30

The provided code is an example of how to parse a string representation of time to extract seconds using the specified format.

Method 4: Using calendar.timegm()

The calendar.timegm() function is used for converting a time tuple in UTC to seconds since the Epoch. You can pass a tuple containing the current time to this function to get the total number of seconds, then modulo it by 60 to get the current seconds.

Here’s an example:

import time
import calendar

current_time = time.gmtime()
total_seconds_since_epoch = calendar.timegm(current_time)
current_seconds = total_seconds_since_epoch % 60
print(current_seconds)

Output: 30

This code converts the current UTC time to seconds since the Epoch, then computes the remainder when this number is divided by 60, which results in the current seconds.

Bonus One-Liner Method 5: Using divmod()

Python’s built-in function divmod() can be used to get the quotient and remainder of dividing the total number of seconds since the epoch by 60, which returns the current seconds as the remainder.

Here’s an example:

import time

total_seconds = time.time()
_, current_seconds = divmod(total_seconds, 60)
print(int(current_seconds))

Output: 30

With a single line of code, this snippet retrieves the current seconds by using the time.time() function and the divmod() built-in function.

Summary/Discussion

• Method 1: Using time module. Simple and straightforward. Requires dealing with time tuples. Not the most direct way when using time strings.
• Method 2: Using datetime module. Offers rich date and time operations. More suitable for complex time manipulations. Slightly heavier than the time module for just seconds.
• Method 3: Using time.strptime(). Best for parsing seconds from time strings. Adds overhead of parsing when you have direct access to a datetime object.
• Method 4: Using calendar.timegm(). Good for converting UTC time tuples. Involves time conversion, might not be necessary for just retrieving seconds.
• Method 5: One-liner using divmod(). Concise and pythonic. Works directly on timestamps. Not as readable for beginners.