fromisoformat(): parses a date or datetime string in ISO 8601 format

Today's date

from datetime import date
dt = date.fromisoformat(date.today().strftime('%Y-%m-%d'))
print(dt)

2019-09-17

from datetime import date
dt = date.fromisoformat('2019-09-22')
print(dt)

2019-09-22

from datetime import date
try:
    dt = date.fromisoformat('2019-02-30')  # Invalid date
except ValueError as e:
    print(f"Error: {e}")

Error: day is out of range for month

Difference between fromisoformat() and strptime()

fromisoformat(): A simple, direct method to parse ISO date strings in the YYYY-MM-DD format. It's faster and requires no format specification.

strptime(): More versatile but requires a format string to define the structure of the input. It’s useful for parsing dates in various formats.

from datetime import date, datetime

# Using fromisoformat
print(date.fromisoformat('2023-09-12'))

# Using strptime for the same result
print(datetime.strptime('2023-09-12', '%Y-%m-%d').date())

2023-09-12
2023-09-12

fromisoformat() is simpler when handling standard ISO dates, while strptime() is needed for more complex formats.

Subhendu Mohapatra

Author & Instructor at plus2net

I write and maintain practical tutorials on Python, PHP, SQL, JavaScript, HTML, jQuery, and web development at plus2net. The tutorials focus on clear explanations, working examples, and code that readers can test and adapt while learning.

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