Python: Get the GMT and local current time

Python Datetime: Exercise-29 with Solution

Write a Python program to get GMT and the local time.

Sample Solution:

Python Code:

# Import the gmtime and strftime functions from the time module
from time import gmtime, strftime
# Import the time module
import time

# Print the current time in GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) format
print("\nGMT: " + time.strftime("%a, %d %b %Y %I:%M:%S %p %Z", time.gmtime()))

# Print the current time in local time zone format
# The strftime function is used directly since it was imported earlier
print("Local: " + strftime("%a, %d %b %Y %I:%M:%S %p %Z\n")) 

Output:

GMT: Mon, 08 May 2017 06:21:07 AM GMT                                                                         
Local: Mon, 08 May 2017 11:51:07 AM IST   

Explanation:

In the exercise above,

• The code imports the "gmtime" and "strftime" functions from the "time" module and the entire "time" module separately.
• Print the current time in different time zones:
• It prints the current time in GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) format using the "strftime()" function with the '%Z' directive to display the time zone.
• "time.gmtime()" retrieves the current time in GMT.
• It prints the current time in the local time zone format using the "strftime()" function.
• Formatting Time Strings:
• The "strftime()" function is used to format time strings according to the specified format directives, such as '%a' for abbreviated weekday name, '%d' for day of the month, '%b' for abbreviated month name, '%Y' for year, '%I' for hour (12-hour clock), '%M' for minute, '%S' for second, '%p' for AM/PM, and '%Z' for time zone name.
• Finally the formatted time strings are printed to the console.

Flowchart:

Python Code Editor:

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