Time Library

Time-related functions for timestamps, time tuples, formatting, and sleeping. Python-compatible implementation.

import time

Available Functions

Functions

time.time()

Returns the current Unix timestamp (seconds since epoch as float).

Returns: Float

Example:

import time
now = time.time()  # 1732435200.123456

time.perf_counter()

Returns a high-resolution monotonic timer for benchmarking (seconds since program start).

Returns: Float

Example:

import time

start = time.perf_counter()
# ... some code ...
end = time.perf_counter()
elapsed = end - start

time.sleep(seconds)

Pauses execution for the specified number of seconds.

Parameters:

• seconds: Number of seconds to sleep (integer or float)

Returns: None

Example:

import time

print("Waiting...")
time.sleep(1)      # Sleep 1 second
time.sleep(0.5)    # Sleep 0.5 seconds
print("Done!")

time.localtime([secs])

Converts a Unix timestamp to a time tuple representing local time.

Parameters:

• secs (optional): Unix timestamp (integer or float). Defaults to current time.

Returns: List (9-element time tuple: [year, month, day, hour, minute, second, weekday, yearday, dst])

Example:

import time

# Current local time tuple
local_tuple = time.localtime()
# [2025, 11, 26, 11, 58, 18, 3, 330, 0]

# Specific timestamp
specific_tuple = time.localtime(1705314645.0)
# [2024, 1, 15, 18, 30, 45, 1, 15, 0]

time.gmtime([secs])

Converts a Unix timestamp to a time tuple representing UTC time.

Parameters:

• secs (optional): Unix timestamp (integer or float). Defaults to current time.

Returns: List (9-element time tuple: [year, month, day, hour, minute, second, weekday, yearday, dst])

Example:

import time

# Current UTC time tuple
utc_tuple = time.gmtime()
# [2025, 11, 26, 3, 58, 18, 3, 330, 0]

# Specific UTC timestamp
utc_specific = time.gmtime(1705314645.0)
# [2024, 1, 15, 18, 30, 45, 1, 15, 0]

time.mktime(tuple)

Converts a time tuple back to a Unix timestamp.

Parameters:

• tuple: 9-element time tuple (list)

Returns: Float (Unix timestamp)

Example:

import time

tuple = [2024, 1, 15, 18, 30, 45, 1, 15, 0]
timestamp = time.mktime(tuple)
# 1705314645.0

time.strftime(format[, t])

Formats a time tuple according to the given format string.

Parameters:

• format: Python-style format string
• t (optional): 9-element time tuple. Defaults to current local time.

Returns: String

Example:

import time

# Format current time
formatted = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
# "2025-11-26 11:58:18"

# Format specific time tuple
tuple = time.localtime(1705314645.0)
formatted = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", tuple)
# "2024-01-15 18:30:45"

time.strptime(string, format)

Parses a time string according to the given format and returns a time tuple.

Parameters:

• string: Time string to parse
• format: Python-style format string

Returns: List (9-element time tuple)

Example:

import time

tuple = time.strptime("2024-01-15 10:30:45", "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
# [2024, 1, 15, 10, 30, 45, 1, 15, 0]

time.asctime([t])

Converts a time tuple to a string in a standard format.

Parameters:

• t (optional): 9-element time tuple. Defaults to current local time.

Returns: String

Example:

import time

# Current time
ascii_time = time.asctime()
# "Wed Nov 26 11:58:18 2025"

# Specific time tuple
tuple = time.localtime(1705314645.0)
ascii_time = time.asctime(tuple)
# "Mon Jan 15 18:30:45 2024"

time.ctime([secs])

Converts a Unix timestamp to a string in a standard format.

Parameters:

• secs (optional): Unix timestamp. Defaults to current time.

Returns: String

Example:

import time

# Current time
ctime_str = time.ctime()
# "Wed Nov 26 11:58:18 2025"

# Specific timestamp
ctime_str = time.ctime(1705314645.0)
# "Mon Jan 15 18:30:45 2024"

Time Tuple Format

Time tuples are 9-element lists with the following structure:

[year, month, day, hour, minute, second, weekday, yearday, dst]

• year: Year (e.g., 2025)
• month: Month (1-12)
• day: Day of month (1-31)
• hour: Hour (0-23)
• minute: Minute (0-59)
• second: Second (0-59)
• weekday: Day of week (0=Monday, 6=Sunday)
• yearday: Day of year (1-366)
• dst: Daylight saving time flag (0=not DST, 1=DST, -1=unknown)

Format Codes

Usage Examples

import time

# Get current timestamp
now = time.time()  # 1732435200.123456

# Convert to time tuple
local_tuple = time.localtime(now)
# [2025, 11, 26, 11, 58, 18, 3, 330, 0]

# Format as string
formatted = time.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", local_tuple)
# "2025-11-26 11:58:18"

# Parse string back to tuple
parsed = time.strptime("2024-01-15 10:30:45", "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
# [2024, 1, 15, 10, 30, 45, 1, 15, 0]

# Convert back to timestamp
timestamp = time.mktime(parsed)
# 1705314645.0

# Sleep
print("Waiting...")
time.sleep(1)
print("Done!")