C library - strftime() function

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The C library strftime() function is used to format the date and time as a string. It allows user to set up customized date and time representations which makes the function more valuable.

Here, size_t strftime(char *str, size_t maxsize, const char *format, const struct tm *timeptr) formats the time represented in the structure timeptr according to the formatting rules defined in format and stored into str.

Syntax

Following is the syntax of the C library strftime() function −

size_t strftime(char *str, size_t maxsize, const char *format, const struct tm *timeptr)

Parameters

This function accepts the following parameter −

• str − This is the pointer to the destination array where the resulting C string is copied.
• maxsize − This is the maximum number of characters to be copied to str.
• format − This is the C string containing any combination of regular characters and special format specifiers. These format specifiers are replaced by the function to the corresponding values to represent the time specified in tm. The format specifiers are −

• timeptr − This is the pointer to a tm structure that contains a calendar time broken down into its components as shown below −

struct tm {
   int tm_sec;         /* seconds,  range 0 to 59          */
   int tm_min;         /* minutes, range 0 to 59           */
   int tm_hour;        /* hours, range 0 to 23             */
   int tm_mday;        /* day of the month, range 1 to 31  */
   int tm_mon;         /* month, range 0 to 11             */
   int tm_year;        /* The number of years since 1900   */
   int tm_wday;        /* day of the week, range 0 to 6    */
   int tm_yday;        /* day in the year, range 0 to 365  */
   int tm_isdst;       /* daylight saving time             */	
};

Return Value

If the resulting C string fits in fewer than size characters (including the terminating null-character), the total number of characters copied to str (not including the terminating null-character) is returned. Otherwise, it returns zero.

Example 1

Following is the basic C program library to see the demonstration of strftime() function which results the date and time.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <time.h>

int main () {
   time_t rawtime;
   struct tm *info;
   char buffer[80];

   time( &rawtime );

   info = localtime( &rawtime );

   strftime(buffer,80,"%x - %I:%M%p", info);
   printf("Formatted date and time : |%s|\n", buffer );
  
   return(0);
}

Output

On execution of above code, we get the following result −

Formatted date and time : |05/15/24 - 08:22AM|

Example 2

While utilizing the function locatime(), it converts the current time into a local time and returns the result in a string format.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <time.h>
#define Size 50

int main() {
   time_t t;
   struct tm *tmp;
   char MY_TIME[Size];
   // Get the current time
   time(&t); 
   // Convert to local time
   tmp = localtime(&t); 
   // Format the date and time
   strftime(MY_TIME, sizeof(MY_TIME), "%x - %I:%M%p", tmp);
   printf("Formatted date & time: %s\n", MY_TIME);
   return 0;
}

Output

The above produces code the following result −

Formatted date & time: 05/15/24 - 08:26AM

Example 3

The C program prints the current date and time using the functions − localtime() and strftime().

#include<stdio.h>
#include<time.h>

int main()
{
   time_t anytime;
   struct tm *current;
   char time_str[64];
  
   time(&anytime);

   current = localtime(&anytime);
   strftime(time_str, 64, "%A, %B %d, %Y", current);
   printf("Today is %s\n", time_str);
   return 0;
}

Output

After executing the code, we get the following result −

Today is Wednesday, May 15, 2024