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1:mod:`time` --- Time access and conversions
2===========================================
3
4.. module:: time
5   :synopsis: Time access and conversions.
6
7--------------
8
9This module provides various time-related functions. For related
10functionality, see also the :mod:`datetime` and :mod:`calendar` modules.
11
12Although this module is always available,
13not all functions are available on all platforms.  Most of the functions
14defined in this module call platform C library functions with the same name.  It
15may sometimes be helpful to consult the platform documentation, because the
16semantics of these functions varies among platforms.
17
18An explanation of some terminology and conventions is in order.
19
20.. _epoch:
21
22.. index:: single: epoch
23
24* The :dfn:`epoch` is the point where the time starts, and is platform
25  dependent.  For Unix, the epoch is January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 (UTC).
26  To find out what the epoch is on a given platform, look at
27  ``time.gmtime(0)``.
28
29.. _leap seconds: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_second
30
31.. index:: seconds since the epoch
32
33* The term :dfn:`seconds since the epoch` refers to the total number
34  of elapsed seconds since the epoch, typically excluding
35  `leap seconds`_.  Leap seconds are excluded from this total on all
36  POSIX-compliant platforms.
37
38.. index:: single: Year 2038
39
40* The functions in this module may not handle dates and times before the epoch or
41  far in the future.  The cut-off point in the future is determined by the C
42  library; for 32-bit systems, it is typically in 2038.
43
44.. index::
45   single: 2-digit years
46
47* Function :func:`strptime` can parse 2-digit years when given ``%y`` format
48  code. When 2-digit years are parsed, they are converted according to the POSIX
49  and ISO C standards: values 69--99 are mapped to 1969--1999, and values 0--68
50  are mapped to 2000--2068.
51
52.. index::
53   single: UTC
54   single: Coordinated Universal Time
55   single: Greenwich Mean Time
56
57* UTC is Coordinated Universal Time (formerly known as Greenwich Mean Time, or
58  GMT).  The acronym UTC is not a mistake but a compromise between English and
59  French.
60
61.. index:: single: Daylight Saving Time
62
63* DST is Daylight Saving Time, an adjustment of the timezone by (usually) one
64  hour during part of the year.  DST rules are magic (determined by local law) and
65  can change from year to year.  The C library has a table containing the local
66  rules (often it is read from a system file for flexibility) and is the only
67  source of True Wisdom in this respect.
68
69* The precision of the various real-time functions may be less than suggested by
70  the units in which their value or argument is expressed. E.g. on most Unix
71  systems, the clock "ticks" only 50 or 100 times a second.
72
73* On the other hand, the precision of :func:`.time` and :func:`sleep` is better
74  than their Unix equivalents: times are expressed as floating point numbers,
75  :func:`.time` returns the most accurate time available (using Unix
76  :c:func:`gettimeofday` where available), and :func:`sleep` will accept a time
77  with a nonzero fraction (Unix :c:func:`select` is used to implement this, where
78  available).
79
80* The time value as returned by :func:`gmtime`, :func:`localtime`, and
81  :func:`strptime`, and accepted by :func:`asctime`, :func:`mktime` and
82  :func:`strftime`, is a sequence of 9 integers.  The return values of
83  :func:`gmtime`, :func:`localtime`, and :func:`strptime` also offer attribute
84  names for individual fields.
85
86  See :class:`struct_time` for a description of these objects.
87
88  .. versionchanged:: 3.3
89     The :class:`struct_time` type was extended to provide the :attr:`tm_gmtoff`
90     and :attr:`tm_zone` attributes when platform supports corresponding
91     ``struct tm`` members.
92
93  .. versionchanged:: 3.6
94     The :class:`struct_time` attributes :attr:`tm_gmtoff` and :attr:`tm_zone`
95     are now available on all platforms.
96
97* Use the following functions to convert between time representations:
98
99  +-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
100  | From                    | To                      | Use                     |
101  +=========================+=========================+=========================+
102  | seconds since the epoch | :class:`struct_time` in | :func:`gmtime`          |
103  |                         | UTC                     |                         |
104  +-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
105  | seconds since the epoch | :class:`struct_time` in | :func:`localtime`       |
106  |                         | local time              |                         |
107  +-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
108  | :class:`struct_time` in | seconds since the epoch | :func:`calendar.timegm` |
109  | UTC                     |                         |                         |
110  +-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
111  | :class:`struct_time` in | seconds since the epoch | :func:`mktime`          |
112  | local time              |                         |                         |
113  +-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
114
115
116.. _time-functions:
117
118Functions
119---------
120
121.. function:: asctime([t])
122
123   Convert a tuple or :class:`struct_time` representing a time as returned by
124   :func:`gmtime` or :func:`localtime` to a string of the following
125   form: ``'Sun Jun 20 23:21:05 1993'``. The day field is two characters long
126   and is space padded if the day is a single digit,
127   e.g.: ``'Wed Jun  9 04:26:40 1993'``.
128
129   If *t* is not provided, the current time as returned by :func:`localtime`
130   is used. Locale information is not used by :func:`asctime`.
131
132   .. note::
133
134      Unlike the C function of the same name, :func:`asctime` does not add a
135      trailing newline.
136
137.. function:: pthread_getcpuclockid(thread_id)
138
139   Return the *clk_id* of the thread-specific CPU-time clock for the specified *thread_id*.
140
141   Use :func:`threading.get_ident` or the :attr:`~threading.Thread.ident`
142   attribute of :class:`threading.Thread` objects to get a suitable value
143   for *thread_id*.
144
145   .. warning::
146      Passing an invalid or expired *thread_id* may result in
147      undefined behavior, such as segmentation fault.
148
149   .. availability:: Unix (see the man page for :manpage:`pthread_getcpuclockid(3)` for
150      further information).
151
152   .. versionadded:: 3.7
153
154.. function:: clock_getres(clk_id)
155
156   Return the resolution (precision) of the specified clock *clk_id*.  Refer to
157   :ref:`time-clock-id-constants` for a list of accepted values for *clk_id*.
158
159   .. availability:: Unix.
160
161   .. versionadded:: 3.3
162
163
164.. function:: clock_gettime(clk_id) -> float
165
166   Return the time of the specified clock *clk_id*.  Refer to
167   :ref:`time-clock-id-constants` for a list of accepted values for *clk_id*.
168
169   .. availability:: Unix.
170
171   .. versionadded:: 3.3
172
173
174.. function:: clock_gettime_ns(clk_id) -> int
175
176   Similar to :func:`clock_gettime` but return time as nanoseconds.
177
178   .. availability:: Unix.
179
180   .. versionadded:: 3.7
181
182
183.. function:: clock_settime(clk_id, time: float)
184
185   Set the time of the specified clock *clk_id*.  Currently,
186   :data:`CLOCK_REALTIME` is the only accepted value for *clk_id*.
187
188   .. availability:: Unix.
189
190   .. versionadded:: 3.3
191
192
193.. function:: clock_settime_ns(clk_id, time: int)
194
195   Similar to :func:`clock_settime` but set time with nanoseconds.
196
197   .. availability:: Unix.
198
199   .. versionadded:: 3.7
200
201
202.. function:: ctime([secs])
203
204   Convert a time expressed in seconds since the epoch to a string of a form:
205   ``'Sun Jun 20 23:21:05 1993'`` representing local time. The day field
206   is two characters long and is space padded if the day is a single digit,
207   e.g.: ``'Wed Jun  9 04:26:40 1993'``.
208
209   If *secs* is not provided or :const:`None`, the current time as
210   returned by :func:`.time` is used. ``ctime(secs)`` is equivalent to
211   ``asctime(localtime(secs))``. Locale information is not used by
212   :func:`ctime`.
213
214
215.. function:: get_clock_info(name)
216
217   Get information on the specified clock as a namespace object.
218   Supported clock names and the corresponding functions to read their value
219   are:
220
221   * ``'monotonic'``: :func:`time.monotonic`
222   * ``'perf_counter'``: :func:`time.perf_counter`
223   * ``'process_time'``: :func:`time.process_time`
224   * ``'thread_time'``: :func:`time.thread_time`
225   * ``'time'``: :func:`time.time`
226
227   The result has the following attributes:
228
229   - *adjustable*: ``True`` if the clock can be changed automatically (e.g. by
230     a NTP daemon) or manually by the system administrator, ``False`` otherwise
231   - *implementation*: The name of the underlying C function used to get
232     the clock value.  Refer to :ref:`time-clock-id-constants` for possible values.
233   - *monotonic*: ``True`` if the clock cannot go backward,
234     ``False`` otherwise
235   - *resolution*: The resolution of the clock in seconds (:class:`float`)
236
237   .. versionadded:: 3.3
238
239
240.. function:: gmtime([secs])
241
242   Convert a time expressed in seconds since the epoch to a :class:`struct_time` in
243   UTC in which the dst flag is always zero.  If *secs* is not provided or
244   :const:`None`, the current time as returned by :func:`.time` is used.  Fractions
245   of a second are ignored.  See above for a description of the
246   :class:`struct_time` object. See :func:`calendar.timegm` for the inverse of this
247   function.
248
249
250.. function:: localtime([secs])
251
252   Like :func:`gmtime` but converts to local time.  If *secs* is not provided or
253   :const:`None`, the current time as returned by :func:`.time` is used.  The dst
254   flag is set to ``1`` when DST applies to the given time.
255
256
257.. function:: mktime(t)
258
259   This is the inverse function of :func:`localtime`.  Its argument is the
260   :class:`struct_time` or full 9-tuple (since the dst flag is needed; use ``-1``
261   as the dst flag if it is unknown) which expresses the time in *local* time, not
262   UTC.  It returns a floating point number, for compatibility with :func:`.time`.
263   If the input value cannot be represented as a valid time, either
264   :exc:`OverflowError` or :exc:`ValueError` will be raised (which depends on
265   whether the invalid value is caught by Python or the underlying C libraries).
266   The earliest date for which it can generate a time is platform-dependent.
267
268
269.. function:: monotonic() -> float
270
271   Return the value (in fractional seconds) of a monotonic clock, i.e. a clock
272   that cannot go backwards.  The clock is not affected by system clock updates.
273   The reference point of the returned value is undefined, so that only the
274   difference between the results of consecutive calls is valid.
275
276   .. versionadded:: 3.3
277   .. versionchanged:: 3.5
278      The function is now always available and always system-wide.
279
280
281.. function:: monotonic_ns() -> int
282
283   Similar to :func:`monotonic`, but return time as nanoseconds.
284
285   .. versionadded:: 3.7
286
287.. function:: perf_counter() -> float
288
289   .. index::
290      single: benchmarking
291
292   Return the value (in fractional seconds) of a performance counter, i.e. a
293   clock with the highest available resolution to measure a short duration.  It
294   does include time elapsed during sleep and is system-wide.  The reference
295   point of the returned value is undefined, so that only the difference between
296   the results of consecutive calls is valid.
297
298   .. versionadded:: 3.3
299
300.. function:: perf_counter_ns() -> int
301
302   Similar to :func:`perf_counter`, but return time as nanoseconds.
303
304   .. versionadded:: 3.7
305
306
307.. function:: process_time() -> float
308
309   .. index::
310      single: CPU time
311      single: processor time
312      single: benchmarking
313
314   Return the value (in fractional seconds) of the sum of the system and user
315   CPU time of the current process.  It does not include time elapsed during
316   sleep.  It is process-wide by definition.  The reference point of the
317   returned value is undefined, so that only the difference between the results
318   of consecutive calls is valid.
319
320   .. versionadded:: 3.3
321
322.. function:: process_time_ns() -> int
323
324   Similar to :func:`process_time` but return time as nanoseconds.
325
326   .. versionadded:: 3.7
327
328.. function:: sleep(secs)
329
330   Suspend execution of the calling thread for the given number of seconds.
331   The argument may be a floating point number to indicate a more precise sleep
332   time. The actual suspension time may be less than that requested because any
333   caught signal will terminate the :func:`sleep` following execution of that
334   signal's catching routine.  Also, the suspension time may be longer than
335   requested by an arbitrary amount because of the scheduling of other activity
336   in the system.
337
338   .. versionchanged:: 3.5
339      The function now sleeps at least *secs* even if the sleep is interrupted
340      by a signal, except if the signal handler raises an exception (see
341      :pep:`475` for the rationale).
342
343
344.. index::
345   single: % (percent); datetime format
346
347.. function:: strftime(format[, t])
348
349   Convert a tuple or :class:`struct_time` representing a time as returned by
350   :func:`gmtime` or :func:`localtime` to a string as specified by the *format*
351   argument.  If *t* is not provided, the current time as returned by
352   :func:`localtime` is used.  *format* must be a string.  :exc:`ValueError` is
353   raised if any field in *t* is outside of the allowed range.
354
355   0 is a legal argument for any position in the time tuple; if it is normally
356   illegal the value is forced to a correct one.
357
358   The following directives can be embedded in the *format* string. They are shown
359   without the optional field width and precision specification, and are replaced
360   by the indicated characters in the :func:`strftime` result:
361
362   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
363   | Directive | Meaning                                        | Notes |
364   +===========+================================================+=======+
365   | ``%a``    | Locale's abbreviated weekday name.             |       |
366   |           |                                                |       |
367   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
368   | ``%A``    | Locale's full weekday name.                    |       |
369   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
370   | ``%b``    | Locale's abbreviated month name.               |       |
371   |           |                                                |       |
372   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
373   | ``%B``    | Locale's full month name.                      |       |
374   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
375   | ``%c``    | Locale's appropriate date and time             |       |
376   |           | representation.                                |       |
377   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
378   | ``%d``    | Day of the month as a decimal number [01,31].  |       |
379   |           |                                                |       |
380   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
381   | ``%H``    | Hour (24-hour clock) as a decimal number       |       |
382   |           | [00,23].                                       |       |
383   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
384   | ``%I``    | Hour (12-hour clock) as a decimal number       |       |
385   |           | [01,12].                                       |       |
386   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
387   | ``%j``    | Day of the year as a decimal number [001,366]. |       |
388   |           |                                                |       |
389   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
390   | ``%m``    | Month as a decimal number [01,12].             |       |
391   |           |                                                |       |
392   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
393   | ``%M``    | Minute as a decimal number [00,59].            |       |
394   |           |                                                |       |
395   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
396   | ``%p``    | Locale's equivalent of either AM or PM.        | \(1)  |
397   |           |                                                |       |
398   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
399   | ``%S``    | Second as a decimal number [00,61].            | \(2)  |
400   |           |                                                |       |
401   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
402   | ``%U``    | Week number of the year (Sunday as the first   | \(3)  |
403   |           | day of the week) as a decimal number [00,53].  |       |
404   |           | All days in a new year preceding the first     |       |
405   |           | Sunday are considered to be in week 0.         |       |
406   |           |                                                |       |
407   |           |                                                |       |
408   |           |                                                |       |
409   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
410   | ``%w``    | Weekday as a decimal number [0(Sunday),6].     |       |
411   |           |                                                |       |
412   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
413   | ``%W``    | Week number of the year (Monday as the first   | \(3)  |
414   |           | day of the week) as a decimal number [00,53].  |       |
415   |           | All days in a new year preceding the first     |       |
416   |           | Monday are considered to be in week 0.         |       |
417   |           |                                                |       |
418   |           |                                                |       |
419   |           |                                                |       |
420   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
421   | ``%x``    | Locale's appropriate date representation.      |       |
422   |           |                                                |       |
423   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
424   | ``%X``    | Locale's appropriate time representation.      |       |
425   |           |                                                |       |
426   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
427   | ``%y``    | Year without century as a decimal number       |       |
428   |           | [00,99].                                       |       |
429   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
430   | ``%Y``    | Year with century as a decimal number.         |       |
431   |           |                                                |       |
432   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
433   | ``%z``    | Time zone offset indicating a positive or      |       |
434   |           | negative time difference from UTC/GMT of the   |       |
435   |           | form +HHMM or -HHMM, where H represents decimal|       |
436   |           | hour digits and M represents decimal minute    |       |
437   |           | digits [-23:59, +23:59].                       |       |
438   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
439   | ``%Z``    | Time zone name (no characters if no time zone  |       |
440   |           | exists).                                       |       |
441   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
442   | ``%%``    | A literal ``'%'`` character.                   |       |
443   +-----------+------------------------------------------------+-------+
444
445   Notes:
446
447   (1)
448      When used with the :func:`strptime` function, the ``%p`` directive only affects
449      the output hour field if the ``%I`` directive is used to parse the hour.
450
451   (2)
452      The range really is ``0`` to ``61``; value ``60`` is valid in
453      timestamps representing `leap seconds`_ and value ``61`` is supported
454      for historical reasons.
455
456   (3)
457      When used with the :func:`strptime` function, ``%U`` and ``%W`` are only used in
458      calculations when the day of the week and the year are specified.
459
460   Here is an example, a format for dates compatible with that specified  in the
461   :rfc:`2822` Internet email standard.  [#]_ ::
462
463      >>> from time import gmtime, strftime
464      >>> strftime("%a, %d %b %Y %H:%M:%S +0000", gmtime())
465      'Thu, 28 Jun 2001 14:17:15 +0000'
466
467   Additional directives may be supported on certain platforms, but only the
468   ones listed here have a meaning standardized by ANSI C.  To see the full set
469   of format codes supported on your platform, consult the :manpage:`strftime(3)`
470   documentation.
471
472   On some platforms, an optional field width and precision specification can
473   immediately follow the initial ``'%'`` of a directive in the following order;
474   this is also not portable. The field width is normally 2 except for ``%j`` where
475   it is 3.
476
477
478.. index::
479   single: % (percent); datetime format
480
481.. function:: strptime(string[, format])
482
483   Parse a string representing a time according to a format.  The return value
484   is a :class:`struct_time` as returned by :func:`gmtime` or
485   :func:`localtime`.
486
487   The *format* parameter uses the same directives as those used by
488   :func:`strftime`; it defaults to ``"%a %b %d %H:%M:%S %Y"`` which matches the
489   formatting returned by :func:`ctime`. If *string* cannot be parsed according
490   to *format*, or if it has excess data after parsing, :exc:`ValueError` is
491   raised. The default values used to fill in any missing data when more
492   accurate values cannot be inferred are ``(1900, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, -1)``.
493   Both *string* and *format* must be strings.
494
495   For example:
496
497      >>> import time
498      >>> time.strptime("30 Nov 00", "%d %b %y")   # doctest: +NORMALIZE_WHITESPACE
499      time.struct_time(tm_year=2000, tm_mon=11, tm_mday=30, tm_hour=0, tm_min=0,
500                       tm_sec=0, tm_wday=3, tm_yday=335, tm_isdst=-1)
501
502   Support for the ``%Z`` directive is based on the values contained in ``tzname``
503   and whether ``daylight`` is true.  Because of this, it is platform-specific
504   except for recognizing UTC and GMT which are always known (and are considered to
505   be non-daylight savings timezones).
506
507   Only the directives specified in the documentation are supported.  Because
508   ``strftime()`` is implemented per platform it can sometimes offer more
509   directives than those listed.  But ``strptime()`` is independent of any platform
510   and thus does not necessarily support all directives available that are not
511   documented as supported.
512
513
514.. class:: struct_time
515
516   The type of the time value sequence returned by :func:`gmtime`,
517   :func:`localtime`, and :func:`strptime`.  It is an object with a :term:`named
518   tuple` interface: values can be accessed by index and by attribute name.  The
519   following values are present:
520
521   +-------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
522   | Index | Attribute         | Values                          |
523   +=======+===================+=================================+
524   | 0     | :attr:`tm_year`   | (for example, 1993)             |
525   +-------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
526   | 1     | :attr:`tm_mon`    | range [1, 12]                   |
527   +-------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
528   | 2     | :attr:`tm_mday`   | range [1, 31]                   |
529   +-------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
530   | 3     | :attr:`tm_hour`   | range [0, 23]                   |
531   +-------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
532   | 4     | :attr:`tm_min`    | range [0, 59]                   |
533   +-------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
534   | 5     | :attr:`tm_sec`    | range [0, 61]; see **(2)** in   |
535   |       |                   | :func:`strftime` description    |
536   +-------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
537   | 6     | :attr:`tm_wday`   | range [0, 6], Monday is 0       |
538   +-------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
539   | 7     | :attr:`tm_yday`   | range [1, 366]                  |
540   +-------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
541   | 8     | :attr:`tm_isdst`  | 0, 1 or -1; see below           |
542   +-------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
543   | N/A   | :attr:`tm_zone`   | abbreviation of timezone name   |
544   +-------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
545   | N/A   | :attr:`tm_gmtoff` | offset east of UTC in seconds   |
546   +-------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
547
548   Note that unlike the C structure, the month value is a range of [1, 12], not
549   [0, 11].
550
551   In calls to :func:`mktime`, :attr:`tm_isdst` may be set to 1 when daylight
552   savings time is in effect, and 0 when it is not.  A value of -1 indicates that
553   this is not known, and will usually result in the correct state being filled in.
554
555   When a tuple with an incorrect length is passed to a function expecting a
556   :class:`struct_time`, or having elements of the wrong type, a
557   :exc:`TypeError` is raised.
558
559.. function:: time() -> float
560
561   Return the time in seconds since the epoch_ as a floating point
562   number. The specific date of the epoch and the handling of
563   `leap seconds`_ is platform dependent.
564   On Windows and most Unix systems, the epoch is January 1, 1970,
565   00:00:00 (UTC) and leap seconds are not counted towards the time
566   in seconds since the epoch. This is commonly referred to as
567   `Unix time <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_time>`_.
568   To find out what the epoch is on a given platform, look at
569   ``gmtime(0)``.
570
571   Note that even though the time is always returned as a floating point
572   number, not all systems provide time with a better precision than 1 second.
573   While this function normally returns non-decreasing values, it can return a
574   lower value than a previous call if the system clock has been set back
575   between the two calls.
576
577   The number returned by :func:`.time` may be converted into a more common
578   time format (i.e. year, month, day, hour, etc...) in UTC by passing it to
579   :func:`gmtime` function or in local time by passing it to the
580   :func:`localtime` function. In both cases a
581   :class:`struct_time` object is returned, from which the components
582   of the calendar date may be accessed as attributes.
583
584
585.. function:: thread_time() -> float
586
587   .. index::
588      single: CPU time
589      single: processor time
590      single: benchmarking
591
592   Return the value (in fractional seconds) of the sum of the system and user
593   CPU time of the current thread.  It does not include time elapsed during
594   sleep.  It is thread-specific by definition.  The reference point of the
595   returned value is undefined, so that only the difference between the results
596   of consecutive calls in the same thread is valid.
597
598   .. availability::  Windows, Linux, Unix systems supporting
599      ``CLOCK_THREAD_CPUTIME_ID``.
600
601   .. versionadded:: 3.7
602
603
604.. function:: thread_time_ns() -> int
605
606   Similar to :func:`thread_time` but return time as nanoseconds.
607
608   .. versionadded:: 3.7
609
610
611.. function:: time_ns() -> int
612
613   Similar to :func:`~time.time` but returns time as an integer number of nanoseconds
614   since the epoch_.
615
616   .. versionadded:: 3.7
617
618.. function:: tzset()
619
620   Reset the time conversion rules used by the library routines. The environment
621   variable :envvar:`TZ` specifies how this is done. It will also set the variables
622   ``tzname`` (from the :envvar:`TZ` environment variable), ``timezone`` (non-DST
623   seconds West of UTC), ``altzone`` (DST seconds west of UTC) and ``daylight``
624   (to 0 if this timezone does not have any daylight saving time rules, or to
625   nonzero if there is a time, past, present or future when daylight saving time
626   applies).
627
628   .. availability:: Unix.
629
630   .. note::
631
632      Although in many cases, changing the :envvar:`TZ` environment variable may
633      affect the output of functions like :func:`localtime` without calling
634      :func:`tzset`, this behavior should not be relied on.
635
636      The :envvar:`TZ` environment variable should contain no whitespace.
637
638   The standard format of the :envvar:`TZ` environment variable is (whitespace
639   added for clarity)::
640
641      std offset [dst [offset [,start[/time], end[/time]]]]
642
643   Where the components are:
644
645   ``std`` and ``dst``
646      Three or more alphanumerics giving the timezone abbreviations. These will be
647      propagated into time.tzname
648
649   ``offset``
650      The offset has the form: ``± hh[:mm[:ss]]``. This indicates the value
651      added the local time to arrive at UTC.  If preceded by a '-', the timezone
652      is east of the Prime Meridian; otherwise, it is west. If no offset follows
653      dst, summer time is assumed to be one hour ahead of standard time.
654
655   ``start[/time], end[/time]``
656      Indicates when to change to and back from DST. The format of the
657      start and end dates are one of the following:
658
659      :samp:`J{n}`
660         The Julian day *n* (1 <= *n* <= 365). Leap days are not counted, so in
661         all years February 28 is day 59 and March 1 is day 60.
662
663      :samp:`{n}`
664         The zero-based Julian day (0 <= *n* <= 365). Leap days are counted, and
665         it is possible to refer to February 29.
666
667      :samp:`M{m}.{n}.{d}`
668         The *d*'th day (0 <= *d* <= 6) of week *n* of month *m* of the year (1
669         <= *n* <= 5, 1 <= *m* <= 12, where week 5 means "the last *d* day in
670         month *m*" which may occur in either the fourth or the fifth
671         week). Week 1 is the first week in which the *d*'th day occurs. Day
672         zero is a Sunday.
673
674      ``time`` has the same format as ``offset`` except that no leading sign
675      ('-' or '+') is allowed. The default, if time is not given, is 02:00:00.
676
677   ::
678
679      >>> os.environ['TZ'] = 'EST+05EDT,M4.1.0,M10.5.0'
680      >>> time.tzset()
681      >>> time.strftime('%X %x %Z')
682      '02:07:36 05/08/03 EDT'
683      >>> os.environ['TZ'] = 'AEST-10AEDT-11,M10.5.0,M3.5.0'
684      >>> time.tzset()
685      >>> time.strftime('%X %x %Z')
686      '16:08:12 05/08/03 AEST'
687
688   On many Unix systems (including \*BSD, Linux, Solaris, and Darwin), it is more
689   convenient to use the system's zoneinfo (:manpage:`tzfile(5)`)  database to
690   specify the timezone rules. To do this, set the  :envvar:`TZ` environment
691   variable to the path of the required timezone  datafile, relative to the root of
692   the systems 'zoneinfo' timezone database, usually located at
693   :file:`/usr/share/zoneinfo`. For example,  ``'US/Eastern'``,
694   ``'Australia/Melbourne'``, ``'Egypt'`` or  ``'Europe/Amsterdam'``. ::
695
696      >>> os.environ['TZ'] = 'US/Eastern'
697      >>> time.tzset()
698      >>> time.tzname
699      ('EST', 'EDT')
700      >>> os.environ['TZ'] = 'Egypt'
701      >>> time.tzset()
702      >>> time.tzname
703      ('EET', 'EEST')
704
705
706.. _time-clock-id-constants:
707
708Clock ID Constants
709------------------
710
711These constants are used as parameters for :func:`clock_getres` and
712:func:`clock_gettime`.
713
714.. data:: CLOCK_BOOTTIME
715
716   Identical to :data:`CLOCK_MONOTONIC`, except it also includes any time that
717   the system is suspended.
718
719   This allows applications to get a suspend-aware monotonic  clock  without
720   having to deal with the complications of :data:`CLOCK_REALTIME`, which may
721   have  discontinuities if the time is changed using ``settimeofday()`` or
722   similar.
723
724   .. availability:: Linux 2.6.39 or later.
725
726   .. versionadded:: 3.7
727
728
729.. data:: CLOCK_HIGHRES
730
731   The Solaris OS has a ``CLOCK_HIGHRES`` timer that attempts to use an optimal
732   hardware source, and may give close to nanosecond resolution.
733   ``CLOCK_HIGHRES`` is the nonadjustable, high-resolution clock.
734
735   .. availability:: Solaris.
736
737   .. versionadded:: 3.3
738
739
740.. data:: CLOCK_MONOTONIC
741
742   Clock that cannot be set and represents monotonic time since some unspecified
743   starting point.
744
745   .. availability:: Unix.
746
747   .. versionadded:: 3.3
748
749
750.. data:: CLOCK_MONOTONIC_RAW
751
752   Similar to :data:`CLOCK_MONOTONIC`, but provides access to a raw
753   hardware-based time that is not subject to NTP adjustments.
754
755   .. availability:: Linux 2.6.28 and newer, macOS 10.12 and newer.
756
757   .. versionadded:: 3.3
758
759
760.. data:: CLOCK_PROCESS_CPUTIME_ID
761
762   High-resolution per-process timer from the CPU.
763
764   .. availability:: Unix.
765
766   .. versionadded:: 3.3
767
768
769.. data:: CLOCK_PROF
770
771   High-resolution per-process timer from the CPU.
772
773   .. availability:: FreeBSD, NetBSD 7 or later, OpenBSD.
774
775   .. versionadded:: 3.7
776
777.. data:: CLOCK_TAI
778
779   `International Atomic Time <https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/nist-time-frequently-asked-questions-faq#tai>`_
780
781   The system must have a current leap second table in order for this to give
782   the correct answer.  PTP or NTP software can maintain a leap second table.
783
784   .. availability:: Linux.
785
786   .. versionadded:: 3.9
787
788.. data:: CLOCK_THREAD_CPUTIME_ID
789
790   Thread-specific CPU-time clock.
791
792   .. availability::  Unix.
793
794   .. versionadded:: 3.3
795
796
797.. data:: CLOCK_UPTIME
798
799   Time whose absolute value is the time the system has been running and not
800   suspended, providing accurate uptime measurement, both absolute and
801   interval.
802
803   .. availability:: FreeBSD, OpenBSD 5.5 or later.
804
805   .. versionadded:: 3.7
806
807
808.. data:: CLOCK_UPTIME_RAW
809
810   Clock that increments monotonically, tracking the time since an arbitrary
811   point, unaffected by frequency or time adjustments and not incremented while
812   the system is asleep.
813
814   .. availability:: macOS 10.12 and newer.
815
816   .. versionadded:: 3.8
817
818The following constant is the only parameter that can be sent to
819:func:`clock_settime`.
820
821
822.. data:: CLOCK_REALTIME
823
824   System-wide real-time clock.  Setting this clock requires appropriate
825   privileges.
826
827   .. availability:: Unix.
828
829   .. versionadded:: 3.3
830
831
832.. _time-timezone-constants:
833
834Timezone Constants
835-------------------
836
837.. data:: altzone
838
839   The offset of the local DST timezone, in seconds west of UTC, if one is defined.
840   This is negative if the local DST timezone is east of UTC (as in Western Europe,
841   including the UK).  Only use this if ``daylight`` is nonzero.  See note below.
842
843.. data:: daylight
844
845   Nonzero if a DST timezone is defined.  See note below.
846
847.. data:: timezone
848
849   The offset of the local (non-DST) timezone, in seconds west of UTC (negative in
850   most of Western Europe, positive in the US, zero in the UK).  See note below.
851
852.. data:: tzname
853
854   A tuple of two strings: the first is the name of the local non-DST timezone, the
855   second is the name of the local DST timezone.  If no DST timezone is defined,
856   the second string should not be used.  See note below.
857
858.. note::
859
860   For the above Timezone constants (:data:`altzone`, :data:`daylight`, :data:`timezone`,
861   and :data:`tzname`), the value is determined by the timezone rules in effect
862   at module load time or the last time :func:`tzset` is called and may be incorrect
863   for times in the past.  It is recommended to use the :attr:`tm_gmtoff` and
864   :attr:`tm_zone` results from :func:`localtime` to obtain timezone information.
865
866
867.. seealso::
868
869   Module :mod:`datetime`
870      More object-oriented interface to dates and times.
871
872   Module :mod:`locale`
873      Internationalization services.  The locale setting affects the interpretation
874      of many format specifiers in :func:`strftime` and :func:`strptime`.
875
876   Module :mod:`calendar`
877      General calendar-related functions.   :func:`~calendar.timegm` is the
878      inverse of :func:`gmtime` from this module.
879
880.. rubric:: Footnotes
881
882.. [#] The use of ``%Z`` is now deprecated, but the ``%z`` escape that expands to the
883   preferred  hour/minute offset is not supported by all ANSI C libraries. Also, a
884   strict reading of the original 1982 :rfc:`822` standard calls for a two-digit
885   year (%y rather than %Y), but practice moved to 4-digit years long before the
886   year 2000.  After that, :rfc:`822` became obsolete and the 4-digit year has
887   been first recommended by :rfc:`1123` and then mandated by :rfc:`2822`.
888
889