How to Convert a Datetime Object to Milliseconds Since Epoch in Python?

Convert Datetime to Milliseconds Since Epoch in Python

A common task in programming is converting a datetime object to milliseconds since epoch. This is especially useful for storing and transmitting timestamps in a consistent and efficient manner.

Solution:

Python provides a straightforward way to accomplish this conversion using the datetime module. Here's how you can do it:

1. Import the datetime module:

import datetime

2. Create a unix_time_millis() function that calculates the milliseconds since epoch for a given datetime object:

def unix_time_millis(dt):
    epoch = datetime.datetime.utcfromtimestamp(0)
    return (dt - epoch).total_seconds() * 1000.0

• The datetime.datetime.utcfromtimestamp(0) line creates a datetime object representing the epoch (January 1, 1970 at 00:00:00 UTC).
• The function then subtracts the epoch datetime from the input datetime object (dt) and multiplies the result by 1000.0 to convert from seconds to milliseconds.

Usage:

To use this function, simply pass your datetime object as an argument:

timestamp = unix_time_millis(datetime.datetime.now())

The timestamp will be a float representing the milliseconds since epoch for the current date and time.

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