Python: Convert two date difference in days, hours, minutes, seconds

Last update on April 22 2025 12:49:03 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

37. Date Difference Breakdown

Write a Python program to convert difference of two dates into days, hours, minutes, and seconds.

Sample Solution:

Python Code:

# Import the datetime and time classes from datetime module
from datetime import datetime, time

# Define a function called date_diff_in_seconds which calculates the difference in seconds between two datetime objects
def date_diff_in_seconds(dt2, dt1):
    # Calculate the time difference between dt2 and dt1
    timedelta = dt2 - dt1
    # Return the total time difference in seconds
    return timedelta.days * 24 * 3600 + timedelta.seconds

# Define a function called dhms_from_seconds which converts seconds into days, hours, minutes, and seconds
def dhms_from_seconds(seconds):
    # Calculate minutes and remaining seconds
    minutes, seconds = divmod(seconds, 60)
    # Calculate hours and remaining minutes
    hours, minutes = divmod(minutes, 60)
    # Calculate days and remaining hours
    days, hours = divmod(hours, 24)
    # Return days, hours, minutes, and seconds
    return (days, hours, minutes, seconds)

# Specified date: January 1, 2015, at 01:00:00
date1 = datetime.strptime('2015-01-01 01:00:00', '%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')
# Current date and time
date2 = datetime.now()

# Print the time difference in days, hours, minutes, and seconds between the current date and the specified date
print("\n%d days, %d hours, %d minutes, %d seconds" % dhms_from_seconds(date_diff_in_seconds(date2, date1)))
# Print an empty line
print()

Output:

858 days, 12 hours, 34 minutes, 21 seconds

Explanation:

In the exercise above,

The code imports the "datetime" and "time" classes from the "datetime" module.
It defines a function named "date_diff_in_seconds()" which calculates the difference in seconds between two "datetime" objects.
Inside the "date_diff_in_seconds()" function:

It calculates the time difference (timedelta) between 'dt2' and 'dt1' using simple subtraction.
It converts the time difference into seconds by multiplying the number of days by 24 hours and then by 3600 seconds, and adding the number of seconds in the 'timedelta'.

It defines a function named "dhms_from_seconds()" which converts seconds into days, hours, minutes, and seconds.
Inside the "dhms_from_seconds()" function:

It uses the "divmod()" function to calculate minutes, hours, and days from the given number of seconds.

It defines 'date1' as a specified date, January 1, 2015, at 01:00:00, using the "strptime()" function to parse the string into a "datetime" object.
It defines 'date2' as the current date and time using the "datetime.now()" function.
It prints the time difference in days, hours, minutes, and seconds between 'date2' and 'date1'.

Flowchart:

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

Write a Python program to compute the difference between two dates and then break down the difference into days, hours, minutes, and seconds.
Write a Python script to calculate the exact time delta between two datetime objects and display it in a formatted string.
Write a Python function that takes two datetime inputs and returns a tuple with the difference expressed in days, hours, minutes, and seconds.
Write a Python program to find the difference between two dates and then convert that difference into a human-readable string like "X days, Y hours, Z minutes, and W seconds".

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