DateTime

library6.0pypypi✓ verified 24d ago

The DateTime package provides a specific DateTime data type primarily intended for use within Zope applications and APIs. It aims to offer a consistent date/time representation within that ecosystem. Currently at version 6.0, this library is actively maintained by the Zope Foundation, with releases generally tied to Zope's development cycle, though less frequently than core Python modules.

serialization

pip install DateTime

github ↗package ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · DATETIME

DateTime

serializationpythonv6.0

Install

2.0s avg

Import

89ms

Disk

21MB

Pass rate

10/ 10

Env Coverage10 / 10

glibc

3.9–3.13

musl

3.9–3.13

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v6.0 · pip install

no network on importno background threads

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 0.0s · import 0.092s · 22.9MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 2.0s · import 0.086s · 24MB

21MB installed

● package 21MB

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

DateTime

✓ from DateTime import DateTime

✗ import datetime # for Zope DateTime

This library is distinct from Python's built-in `datetime` module. Ensure you import `DateTime` from the `DateTime` package if you intend to use the Zope-specific type.

This quickstart demonstrates how to create `DateTime` objects, access their components, and convert them to Python's standard `datetime.datetime` objects. It's crucial for Zope compatibility and integration with other Python libraries.

from DateTime import DateTime import os # Create a DateTime object for the current moment now = DateTime() print(f"Current DateTime: {now}") # Create a DateTime object from a string with a specified timezone specific_time = DateTime("2025-10-27 14:30:00 US/Eastern") print(f"Specific DateTime: {specific_time}") # Access components print(f"Year: {specific_time.year()}, Month: {specific_time.month()}, Day: {specific_time.day()}") print(f"Hour: {specific_time.hour()}, Minute: {specific_time.minute()}, Second: {specific_time.second()}") # Convert to Python's built-in datetime object for interoperability dt_obj = specific_time.asdatetime() print(f"As Python datetime: {dt_obj}")

Debug

Known issues

gotchaThis `DateTime` library (with a capital 'D') is *not* Python's built-in `datetime` module. The package summary explicitly states, 'Unless you need to communicate with Zope APIs, you're probably better off using Python's built-in datetime module.' Using `DateTime` when the built-in `datetime` is sufficient adds unnecessary dependencies and can lead to confusion.

fix

For general date/time operations, use `import datetime`. Only use `from DateTime import DateTime` if you have a specific need for Zope compatibility.

affects: All

breakingVersion 6.0 replaced `pkg_resources` namespace packaging with PEP 420 native namespace packaging. This may cause issues in deployment environments or build systems that rely on the older `pkg_resources` mechanism for discovering or handling namespace packages.

fix

Ensure your packaging tools and environment are compatible with PEP 420 namespace packages. Update setuptools or build tools if necessary.

affects: 6.0+

breakingVersion 5.5 changed the internal pickle format for DateTime objects to correctly export microseconds as an integer, specifically addressing issues with dates after the year 2038. This means that DateTime objects pickled with versions prior to 5.5 might not be unpickleable or might be unpickled incorrectly when using version 5.5 or later.

fix

Repickle any persisted DateTime objects using version 5.5+ or implement a migration strategy if you rely on long-term persistence of DateTime objects across this version boundary.

affects: 5.5+

gotchaThe default timezone behavior can be inconsistent. If a timezone is not explicitly provided in the constructor (e.g., via a string), the local machine's timezone is used. However, if the date string format matches ISO 8601 ('YYYY-MM-DD') without an explicit timezone, the instance will default to UTC/GMT+0. This can lead to unexpected timezone interpretations.

fix

Always explicitly specify the desired timezone when creating `DateTime` objects, or use `DateTime.asdatetime()` and Python's `zoneinfo` module for explicit timezone handling.

affects: All

deprecatedSupport for `DateTime.__cmp__` for object comparison has been removed. Direct use of the `cmp()` function or reliance on `__cmp__` will lead to errors.

fix

Use Python's rich comparison operators (`<`, `>`, `==`, `<=`, `>=`, `!=`) instead of `cmp()` or direct calls to `__cmp__`.

affects: 5.0+

Errors

Common errors & fixes

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'DateTime'

The 'DateTime' module is not installed in the Python environment.

fix

Install the module using 'pip install DateTime'.

ImportError: cannot import name 'DateTime' from partially initialized module 'datetime'

A script named 'datetime.py' in the working directory is shadowing Python's standard 'datetime' module.

fix

Rename the script to avoid naming conflicts with standard library modules.

ImportError: cannot import name 'date' from partially initialized module 'datetime'

A script named 'datetime.py' in the working directory is shadowing Python's standard 'datetime' module.

fix

Rename the script to avoid naming conflicts with standard library modules.

TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for -: 'int' and 'DateTime'

This error occurs when attempting to perform arithmetic operations directly between a Zope `DateTime` object and a standard Python integer or other incompatible numeric type without proper conversion.

fix

Convert the `DateTime` object to a compatible numeric type (e.g., float representing seconds since epoch) or ensure all operands are `DateTime` objects for arithmetic operations. Example: `dt_object.timeTime() - some_int_seconds` or `float(dt_object) - some_other_float`.

DateTime.SyntaxError: Invalid date/time string

The string provided to the `DateTime` constructor or parsing function does not conform to a recognized date/time format or is empty.

fix

Provide a valid date/time string in a format that the `DateTime` constructor can parse, or use the constructor with specific numeric arguments (year, month, day, etc.).

Upgrade

Version history

6.0latest on PyPI · released Nov 25, 2025

Audit

Dependencies

No dependency data recorded yet.

Agent activity

60 hits · last 30 days

node

Perplexity

OpenAI (training)

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/zopefoundation/DateTime ↗

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/DateTime/ ↗