# Python Dates

A date in Python is not a data type of its own, but we can import a module named `datetime` to work with dates as date objects.

## Importing the Module

```python
import datetime
```

## Get Current Date

To display the current date, we can use the `datetime.now()` method.

```python
import datetime

x = datetime.datetime.now()
print(x)
```

## Creating Date Objects

To create a date, we can use the `datetime()` class (constructor) of the `datetime` module. The `datetime()` class requires three parameters to create a date: year, month, day.

```python
import datetime

x = datetime.datetime(2020, 5, 17)
print(x)
```

## The `strftime()` Method

The `datetime` object has a method for formatting date objects into readable strings. The method is called `strftime()`, and takes one parameter, `format`, to specify the format of the returned string.

```python
import datetime

x = datetime.datetime(2018, 6, 1)

print(x.strftime("%B")) # Output: June
```

## Common Format Codes

*   `%a`: Weekday, short version (e.g., Wed)
*   `%A`: Weekday, full version (e.g., Wednesday)
*   `%b`: Month name, short version (e.g., Dec)
*   `%B`: Month name, full version (e.g., December)
*   `%Y`: Year, full version (e.g., 2018)

[[programming/python/python]]