How to Get POSIX/Unix Time in Python - Seconds and Nanoseconds

When working with time-related data in Python, it can be useful to use POSIX/Unix time, which is a system for representing time as the number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970 at 00:00:00 UTC. This is a widely used standard and is supported by many programming languages and systems.

In Python, you can get the POSIX/Unix time using the time.time() function, which returns the current time in seconds since the Unix epoch. This function does not provide nanosecond precision, however.

If you need nanosecond precision, you can use the time.time_ns() function in Python 3.7 or later. This function returns the current time in nanoseconds since the Unix epoch.

import time

# Get POSIX/Unix time in seconds
posix_time_seconds = time.time()

# Get POSIX/Unix time in nanoseconds (Python 3.7+)
posix_time_nanoseconds = time.time_ns()

Once you have the POSIX/Unix time in either seconds or nanoseconds, you can use it in your Python program as needed. This can be especially useful for working with time-series data, measuring execution times, and other time-related tasks.

Overall, getting the POSIX/Unix time in Python is a straightforward process that can be accomplished with just a few lines of code. Whether you need second or nanosecond precision, Python provides built-in functions that make it easy to work with this widely used time standard.