[Python-Dev] datetime module enhancements (original) (raw)

Guido van Rossum guido at python.org
Fri Mar 9 18:29:53 CET 2007

On 3/9/07, BJörn Lindqvist <bjourne at gmail.com> wrote:

On 3/9/07, Guido van Rossum <guido at python.org> wrote: > On 3/9/07, skip at pobox.com <skip at pobox.com> wrote: > > The range of datetime objects far exceeds that of the current Unix > > timestamp. Given that the range of current (32-bit) Unix timestamps is > > approximately 1970 to 2038, What would the output of this be? > > > > dt = datetime.datetime(3000, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0) > > print dt.totimestamp() > > dt = datetime.datetime(1900, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0) > > print dt.totimestamp() > > If you extend the range to 64 bits there's no problem: the first > should print 32503680000, the second -2208988800.

I think it should be a ValueError, given that the programmer is very likely to further use the returned timestamp to for example insert stuff in a database. Unix timestamps are not unambiguously defined for any years other than 1970 to 2038 imho.

But they will be. And they already are on some platforms. The database should raise an OverflowError if a timestamp is out of range, but it would be unpythonic to limit those outcomes to 32 bits.

-- --Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)

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