Pandas program to convert a string of date into time

In this program, we will convert date strings like "24 August 2020" into datetime format using Pandas. The to_datetime() function automatically parses various date string formats and converts them to standardized datetime objects.

Algorithm

Step 1: Define a Pandas series containing date strings.
Step 2: Convert these date strings into datetime format using to_datetime().
Step 3: Print the results.

Example

Let's convert different date string formats to datetime ?

import pandas as pd

series = pd.Series(["24 August 2020", "25 December 2020 20:05"])
print("Original Series:")
print(series)

datetime_series = pd.to_datetime(series)
print("\nDateTime Format:")
print(datetime_series)

Original Series:
0              24 August 2020
1    25 December 2020 20:05
dtype: object

DateTime Format:
0   2020-08-24 00:00:00
1   2020-12-25 20:05:00
dtype: datetime64[ns]

Working with Different Date Formats

The to_datetime() function can handle various date string formats automatically ?

import pandas as pd

# Different date string formats
date_strings = pd.Series([
    "2020-08-24",
    "24/08/2020", 
    "Aug 24, 2020",
    "2020-08-24 14:30:00"
])

print("Original date strings:")
print(date_strings)

converted_dates = pd.to_datetime(date_strings)
print("\nConverted to datetime:")
print(converted_dates)

Original date strings:
0              2020-08-24
1              24/08/2020
2            Aug 24, 2020
3    2020-08-24 14:30:00
dtype: object

Converted to datetime:
0   2020-08-24 00:00:00
1   2020-08-24 00:00:00
2   2020-08-24 00:00:00
3   2020-08-24 14:30:00
dtype: datetime64[ns]

Key Points

• The to_datetime() function automatically infers date formats
• When no time is specified, it defaults to 00:00:00
• The result is a datetime64[ns] dtype for efficient operations
• Use format parameter for specific date formats to improve performance

Conclusion

Pandas to_datetime() function provides a simple way to convert date strings into datetime objects. It automatically handles various date formats and creates standardized datetime64 objects suitable for time-based operations.