Python: Display a simple, formatted calendar of a given year and month

Last update on April 22 2025 12:48:58 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

48. Simple Formatted Calendar

Write a Python program to display a simple, formatted calendar of a given year and month.

Sample Solution:

Python Code:

# Import the calendar module
import calendar
# Print a prompt indicating that a calendar for a specific year and month will be printed
print('Print a calendar for a year and month:')
# Prompt the user to input the month and year
month = int(input('Month (mm): '))
year = int(input('Year (yyyy): '))
# Print a new line for formatting purposes
print('\n')

# Set Sunday as the first day of the week
calendar.setfirstweekday(calendar.SUNDAY)
# Generate the month calendar for the specified year and month
cal = calendar.monthcalendar(year, month)

# If the month is single-digit, prepend a '0' to it for consistency
if len(str(month)) == 1:
    month = '0%s' % month

# Print the header of the calendar
print('|++++++ %s-%s +++++|' % (month, year))
print('|Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa|')
print('|--------------------|')

# Display the calendar
border = '|'
for week in cal:
    line = border

    # Iterate over each day in the week
    for day in week:
        # If the day is 0, it's a blank day
        if day == 0:
            # Print 3 spaces for blank days
            line += '   ' 
        # If the day is a single-digit number, prepend a space
        elif len(str(day)) == 1:
            line += ' %d ' % day
        # If the day is a double-digit number, print it directly
        else:
            line += '%d ' % day
    # Remove the extra space in the last column
    line = line[0:len(line) - 1]  
    line += border
    # Print the line
    print(line)

# Print the bottom border of the calendar
print('|--------------------|\n')

Output:

Print a calendar for a year and month:                                                                        
Month (mm): 05                                                                                                
Year (yyyy): 2017                                                                                             
                                                                                                              
                                                                                                              
|++++++ 05-2017 +++++|                                                                                        
|Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa|                                                                                        
|--------------------|                                                                                        
|    1  2  3  4  5  6|                                                                                        
| 7  8  9 10 11 12 13|                                                                                        
|14 15 16 17 18 19 20|                                                                                        
|21 22 23 24 25 26 27|                                                                                        
|28 29 30 31         |                                                                                        
|--------------------|

Explanation:

In the exercise above,

The code imports the "calendar" module.
It prints a prompt indicating that a calendar for a specific year and month will be printed.
It prompts the user to input the month and year.
It prints a new line for formatting purposes.
It sets Sunday as the first day of the week.
It generates the month calendar for the specified year and month.
If the month is a single-digit number, it prepends a '0' to it for consistency.
It prints the header of the calendar.
It iterates over each week in the calendar, constructing a string representation of each week.
Within each week, it iterates over each day, formatting each day according to its value (blank, single-digit, or double-digit).
It removes the extra space in the last column of each line.
It prints the constructed line.
It prints the bottom border of the calendar.

Flowchart:

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

Write a Python program to display a simple, formatted calendar for a specified month and year using the calendar module.
Write a Python script to generate a plain text calendar for a given month, ensuring proper alignment of dates.
Write a Python function to print a basic calendar for a month and then highlight weekends with asterisks.
Write a Python program to create a minimalistic calendar view for a month and then export it as a text file.

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