datetime.date()

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MamtaWardhani
Published Jun 7, 2022Updated Apr 15, 2025
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The datetime.date() method returns a date object in the year-month-day format. It’s useful when there is a need of only the calendar date without time information.

Syntax

datetime.date(YYYY, MM, DD)

All parameters passed to the datetime.date() method in the snippet above are required and must be passed in order. Otherwise, a TypeError is thrown.

Parameters:

  • year: A four-digit integer representing the year (e.g., 2025).
  • month: An integer representing the month (1 for January, 12 for December).
  • day: An integer representing the day of the month (must be valid for the given month and year).

Return value:

This method returns a date object representing the specified calendar date in the format YYYY-MM-DD.

Example 1: Create and Access Date Components

Here’s a detailed example of using .date() to create a date object and access its components:

import datetime


example_date = datetime.date(2024, 10, 15)


year = example_date.year
month = example_date.month
day = example_date.day


print("Complete Date:", example_date)
print("Year:", year)
print("Month:", month)
print("Day:", day)

The above code produces the following output:

Complete Date: 2024-10-15
Year: 2024
Month: 10
Day: 15

Example 2: Get the Date of User Login

In this example, the date() method is used to record a project deadline without including time details:

import datetime


login_time = datetime.datetime(2024, 4, 9, 18, 30)
login_date = login_time.date()


print("User login date:", login_date)

The code produces the following output:

User login date: 2024-04-09

Codebyte Example 1: Check Expiry Date of a Product

This code compares the current date with a product’s expiry date, ignoring the time:

Code
Output
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It’s perfect for real-world scenarios like food, coupons, or subscription expiration.




Note: The outputs produced for all these example codes will vary depending on the input dates and the current date when the code is run.




Frequenty Asked Questions


1. Can I use `.date()` on a `date` object?



No, the `.date()` method is only available on `datetime` objects. A date object already holds only `date` information.



  

2. What is the return type of `.date()`?



It returns a `datetime.date` object that contains the year, month, and day—but no time information.





3. Does `.date()` affect the original datetime?



No, `.date()` is non-destructive. It returns a new `date` object and does not modify the original `datetime` object.




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