User’s own custom datetime.py
module was overriding standard library, the information below is still useful to understand why that would happen. The import algorithm first checks your immediate directory. You can check that modules file path with:
print a_module.__file__
Welcome to the wild world of programming. So, I’m not sure I fully understand your question, so I will try to break some things down and leave room for you to discuss.
When you import datetime you import whats called a module. Without going into to much detail modules are what are commonly known as namespaces, they serve to create separation of attributes under a hierarchy so you dont accidentally overwrite other code on import. You can read more read about it here:
The datetime module supplies classes for manipulating dates and times
in both simple and complex ways. While date and time arithmetic is
supported, the focus of the implementation is on efficient attribute
extraction for output formatting and manipulation. For related
functionality, see also the time and calendar modules.
When you import it and run the type method on it you should see the following results:
>>> import datetime
>>> type(datetime)
<class 'module'>
The builtin type method documentation states the following:
4.12.6. Type Objects
Type objects represent the various object types. An object’s type is accessed by the built-in function type(). There are no special operations on types. The standard module types defines names for all standard built-in types.
When you explicitly print that output it will be the same result:
>>> print(type(datetime))
<class 'module'>
Modules expose attributes on import. The attribute you are accessing is the datetime modules datetime attribute which is a class that happens to just have the same name. So when you access it looks like datetime.datetime
That class supports a method (which is also an attribute of the class, not the module) named «now». So, when you are accessing that method it looks like datetime.datetime.now() to call it.
If you wanted to simplify this heirarchy on import you could clarify that you only want the datetime class out of the datetime module:
from datetime import datetime
#and the access its now method simpler
d1 = datetime.now()
This may help with the attribute access problems, it may be a matter of confusion. If you want to clarify your problem more, please feel free to do so!
This error occurs when you import the datetime module and try to call the now() method on the imported module. You can solve this error by importing the datetime class using from datetime import datetime
or access the class method using
datetime.datetime.now()
This tutorial will go through the error and how to solve it with code examples.
Table of contents
- AttributeError: module ‘datetime’ has no attribute ‘now’
- Example
- Solution #1: Use the from keyword
- Solution #2: Use datetime.datetime
- Summary
AttributeError: module ‘datetime’ has no attribute ‘now’
AttributeError occurs in a Python program when we try to access an attribute (method or property) that does not exist for a particular object. datetime is a built-in Python module that supplies classes for manipulating dates and times. One of the classes in datetime is called datetime. It can be unclear when both the module and one of the classes share the same name. If you use the import syntax:
import datetime
You are importing the datetime
module, not the datetime
class. We can verify that we are importing the module using the type() function:
import datetime print(type(datetime))
<class 'module'>
We can check what names are under datetime using dir() as follows:
import datetime attributes = dir(datetime) print('now' in attributes)
In the above code, we assign the list of attributes returned by dir() to the variable name attributes. We then check for the now()
attribute in the list using the in operator. When we run this code, we see it returns False.
False
However, if we import the datetime class and call dir()
, we will see now
as an attribute of the class. We can check for now in the list of attributes as follows:
from datetime import datetime attributes = dir(datetime) print('now' in attributes)
True
Example
Consider the following example, where we want to get the current local date and time.
import datetime date = datetime.now()
Let’s run the code to see the result:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- AttributeError Traceback (most recent call last) Input In [2], in <cell line: 1>() ----> 1 date = datetime.now() AttributeError: module 'datetime' has no attribute 'now'
The error occurs because we imported the module datetime and tried to call the now()
method, but now()
is an attribute of the datetime class, not the module.
Solution #1: Use the from keyword
We can solve this error by importing the datetime class using the from
keyword. Let’s look at the revised code:
from datetime import datetime date = datetime.now() print(date)
Let’s run the code to see the result:
2022-05-18 22:59:50.053400
We successfully retrieved the current date and time.
Solution #2: Use datetime.datetime
We can also solve this error by importing the module and then accessing the class attribute using datetime.datetime
, then we can call the now()
method. Let’s look at the revised code:
import datetime date = datetime.datetime.now() print(date)
Let’s run the code to see the result:
2022-05-18 23:43:37.372667
We successfully retrieved the current date and time.
Summary
Congratulations on reading to the end of this tutorial! Remember that from datetime import datetime
imports the datetime class and import datetime
imports the datetime module.
For further reading on AttributeErrors involving datetime, go to the articles:
- How to Solve Python AttributeError: ‘datetime.datetime’ has no attribute ‘datetime’
- How to Solve Python AttributeError: module ‘datetime’ has no attribute ‘strptime’
To learn more about Python for data science and machine learning, go to the online courses page on Python for the most comprehensive courses available.
Have fun and happy researching!
In this article, we will provide solutions for attributeerror module datetime has no attribute now an error.
Asides from it we will give some example codes where in it fixes the error.
The attributeerror module datetime has no attribute now is an error that occurs when we call the method now straight to the datetime module.
Here is an example of how this error occurs:
import datetime
print(datetime.now())
The code explains that when we call now method directly to the datetime module it will raise an attributeerror.
Output:
AttributeError: module ‘datetime’ has no attribute ‘now’
How to fix attributeerror module datetime has no attribute now
Here are the following solutions you can try to fix attributeerror module datetime has no attribute now
Call the now method on the datetime class
One way to fix the error is calling the now method to datetime class instead.
Here is an example code of how it works:
import datetime
print(datetime.datetime.now())
Output:
2023-03-20 15:46:10.813464
Keep in mind that the local module should not be named datetime.py, otherwise it will shadow the official datetime module.
Imported the datetime class from the datetime module
Another way is to import the datetime class from the datetime module in order to avoid datetime.datetime wherein it could be confusing.
Here is the example code:
from datetime import datetime
print(datetime.now())
Output:
2023-03-20 15:46:10.813464
Use an alias in import statement
Since importing datetime class from datetime is confusing, alternatively, we will use the alias to import.
So in our example we will use alias dt for datetime class, then we will call now method with dt.now() instead of datetime.now().
from datetime import datetime as dt
print(dt.now())
Output:
2023-03-20 16:01:15.373088
Call the dir() function passing the imported module
Another way to debug is to call the dir() function passing it to the imported module.
Here is an example:
import datetime
"""
[
'MAXYEAR', 'MINYEAR', '__all__', '__builtins__', '__cached__',
'__doc__', '__file__', '__loader__', '__name__', '__package__',
'__spec__', 'date', 'datetime', 'datetime_CAPI', 'sys', 'time',
'timedelta', 'timezone', 'tzinfo'
]
"""
print(dir(datetime))
Once the datetime class is imported from the datetime module and pass it to the dir() function, you will see the now method in the list of attributes.
from datetime import datetime
print(dir(datetime))
Output:
['__add__', '__class__', '__delattr__', '__dir__', '__doc__', '__eq__', '__format__', '__ge__', '__getattribute__', '__gt__', '__hash__', '__init__', '__init_subclass__', '__le__', '__lt__', '__ne__', '__new__', '__radd__', '__reduce__', '__reduce_ex__', '__repr__', '__rsub__', '__setattr__', '__sizeof__', '__str__', '__sub__', '__subclasshook__', 'astimezone', 'combine', 'ctime', 'date', 'day', 'dst', 'fold', 'fromisocalendar', 'fromisoformat', 'fromordinal', 'fromtimestamp', 'hour', 'isocalendar', 'isoformat', 'isoweekday', 'max', 'microsecond', 'min', 'minute', 'month', 'now', 'replace', 'resolution', 'second', 'strftime', 'strptime', 'time', 'timestamp', 'timetuple', 'timetz', 'today', 'toordinal', 'tzinfo', 'tzname', 'utcfromtimestamp', 'utcnow', 'utcoffset', 'utctimetuple', 'weekday', 'year']
Conclusion
The attributeerror module datetime has no attribute now error can be frustrating to encounter, but there are several potential solutions.Python projects.
Try calling the now method on the datetime class, import the datetime class from the datetime module, and use an alias in import statement. With some patience and persistence, you should be able to resolve the issue and get back to using datetime now method.
We hope that this article has provided you with the information you need to fix this error and continue working with Python.
If you are finding solutions to some errors you’re encountering we also have AttributeError: module ‘numpy’ has no attribute ‘int’ error
The error “AttributeError module ‘datetime’ has no attribute ‘now’” happens when you call the now() attribute. To fix the error, let follow the article to better understand.
In Python, a datetime module is responsible for working and dealing with issues related to date and time. In the datetime module, there are the following classes: datetime.date, datetime.time, datetime.datetime and datetime.delta. The now()
attribute is in class datetime.datetime. The error happens when you call the now()
attribute without importing the datetime class but only importing the datetime module.
Example:
import datetime date = datetime.now()
Output:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "code.py", line 2, in <module>
date = datetime.now()
AttributeError: module 'datetime' has no attribute 'now'
How to solve this error?
Import datetime class
As I mentioned, the error “AttributeError module ‘datetime’ has no attribute ‘now” happens when you don’t import datetime class, so just importing datetime class and then using the from
keyword error will be solved.
Example:
- Import datetime class from datetime module.
- Call the
now()
property to print the date and time. - Outputs the current date and time.
from datetime import datetime # The now() attribute to print the date and time dateTimeNow = datetime.now() print(dateTimeNow)
Output:
2022-10-07 11:10:00.157460
Use datetime.datetime
In short, the first method is to use datetime.datetime (I also access the module and import the datetime class), then call the now()
attribute, and the error will be resolved.
Example:
- Import datetime module.
- Use
datetime.datetime
and call thenow()
attribute. - Print out the date and time.
import datetime # Use the now() attribute to print the date and time dateTimeNow = datetime.datetime.now() print(dateTimeNow)
Output:
2022-10-07 11:18:37.885667
Use the assigned name
To avoid overlapping the class name with the module name, you can handle it by assigning it a different name.
Example:
- Import datetime class from datetime module.
- Assign a different name than the module name and class name. In this example, I named it
lsi
. - Outputs the current date and time.
from datetime import datetime as lsi print(lsi.now())
Output:
2022-10-07 11:28:47.856817
Note:
Use the dir()
function to check the module’s attributes.
Example:
import datetime namesAttr = dir(datetime) print(namesAttr)
Output:
You can see now()
property is not present in the datetime module, so import datetime class to avoid the error.
Summary
If you have any questions about the “AttributeError module ‘datetime’ has no attribute ‘now’” error in Python, please leave a comment below. We will support your questions. Thanks for reading!
Maybe you are interested in similar errors:
- AttributeError module ‘time’ has no attribute ‘clock’
- AttributeError: ‘dict’ object has no attribute ‘append’
- AttributeError: ‘dict’ object has no attribute ‘has_key’ in Python
- AttributeError: ‘list’ object has no attribute ‘items’ in Python
My name is Jason Wilson, you can call me Jason. My major is information technology, and I am proficient in C++, Python, and Java. I hope my writings are useful to you while you study programming languages.
Name of the university: HHAU
Major: IT
Programming Languages: C++, Python, Java
Submitted by oretnom23 on Friday, May 5, 2023 — 15:31.
If you are facing the Python Attribute Error that says «AttributeError: module ‘datetime’ has no attribute ‘now'», this article will help you understand why this error occurred and how to fix it. I will be giving also sample scripts that simulate the error to occur and explain why and solve it.
Why does «AttributeError: module ‘datetime’ has no attribute ‘now'» occurs?
The «AttributeError: module ‘datetime’ has no attribute ‘now’ tells you that the module known as datetime has no attribute called now. It is because we are trying to output the current date and time straight after the datetime.
Here’s a simple and best sample that simulates the scenario
test.py
import datetime
print(datetime.now())
The script above shows that the datetime module is being imported to the Python file script and trying to output the current date and time using the now attribute directly. Unfortunately, this script will return an Attribute Error stating that the said module does not have or contain a now which is actually true.
The error occurred because we are trying to get the current date and time directly from the module which should not be. The now method that we are trying to get is from the datetime class of the datetime module. This kind of error can be solved easily in many ways.
Solution #1: Defining the datetime class
One of these error solutions is to define the datetime class first as the attribute of the datetime module. Check out the sample script below.
import datetime
print(datetime.datetime.now())
#Outputs the current date when executing the script
The script above shows that we must get the datetime class first from the datetime module so we can call the now() method. We must understand that we just only imported the datetime module and not directly the datetime class. We can check all the attributes and methods of the datetime module by running the following script.
import datetime
help(datetime)
Solution 2: Importing the datetime
We can also solve this problem by importing only the datetime class and not the whole module. To do that we can do something like the following.
#From datetime module import datetime class
from datetime import datetime
print(datetime.now())
This time we can now directly call the now() method because we only imported the datetime class. We can also make an alias for the datetime class like the following.
from datetime import datetime as dt
print(dt.now())
If you try to execute the following Python script, you will spot the difference.
Importing the Module
import datetime
print(datetime)
Result
Importing the Class
import datetime
print(datetime)
Result
There you go! That is how you can solve the «AttributeError: module ‘datetime’ has no attribute ‘now'» Python error and how you can prevent it from occurring in your current and future projects.
Explore more on this website for more Tutorials and Free Source Codes.
Happy Coding =)
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