Date using input

[flebber.crue at gmail.com]

I am using python 2.6.2, I haven't updated to 3.0 yet. No I have no class  
or instructor, I am learning this myself. I have Hetlands book "Beginning  
Python Novice to Professional and online documentation books so Dive into  
Python, python.org etc.

Using the SPE editor.

I have currently only fully written basic psuedocode to give me a basic  
framework to guide myself.

#Basic pseudocode
#Purpose to get raw input and calculate a score for a field of options and  
return that
#score in a set in descending order.
#Multiple sets sould be written to the doc

#Obtain date
#Check if txt file with same date exists. If yes apphend to results to file.
#Obtain location
#Set Dictionary
#Event number
#Obtain set size
#Prompt first entry
#First Entry Number
#First Entry Name
#Set Blocks to obtain and calculate data
#Block 1 example - Placings Block
#Obtain number of events competed in
#Obtain how many times finished first
#Ensure this value is not greater than Number of Events
#Number of Firsts divide by Events * total by 15.
#Obtain Second finishes
#Ensure this value is not greater than Number of Events
#Number of Seconds divide by Events * total by 10.
#Continue On with this
#Block 2 - Lookup coach Dict and apply value.
#Obtain Surname of Coach
#Lookup Coach File and Match Name and get value.
#Blocks continue gaining and calculating values.
#create txt file named using date
#Sum Values Block1 + Block2 etc
#Print to file event number and field with name number individual Block  
totals and Sum Total
#Arranged in descending Sum Total.
#Prompt are there any more events? Yes return to start
#Apphend all additional events to same day file seperated by blank line.


On Sep 24, 2009 9:59pm, Dave Angel <davea at ieee.org> wrote:
> flebber wrote:


> Sorry to ask a simple question but I am a little confused how to

> combine the input function and the date time module.



> Simply at the start of the program I want to prompt the user to enter

> the date, desirably in the format dd/mm/year.

> However I want to make sure that python understands the time format

> because first the date will form part of the name of the output file

> so dd/mm/year as 1st September 2009, secondly if I have multiple

> output files saved in a directory I may need to search later on the

> files and contents of files by date range. So can I timestamp the

> file?



> I know this is a simple question but it eludes me exactly how to do

> it.



> I have the basics from http://docs.python.org/library/datetime.html



> from datetime import date

> date = input("type date dd/mm/year: ")

> datetime(day,month,year)



> # some program blocks



> #print to file(name = date) or apphend if it exists








> What version of python is your class, instructor, and text book using? If  
> you want to learn fastest, you probably need to be using the same, or  
> nearly same environment. The input() function is one place where it  
> matters whether it's Python 2.x or Python 3.x. While you're at it, you  
> should give the rest of your environment, such as which OS.



> The doc page you pointed us to is for Python 2.6.2, but the input  
> function on that version returns an integer. Perhaps you want  
> raw_input() ?



> What code have you written, and what about it doesn't work? Have you  
> added print statements before the line that causes the error to see what  
> the intermediate values are?





> To try to anticipate some of your problems, you should realize that in  
> most file systems, the slash is a reserved character, so you can't write  
> the date that way. I'd suggest using dashes. I put dates in directory  
> names, and I always put year, then month, then day, because then sorting  
> the filenames also sorts the dates. I'm not in a country that sorts dates  
> that way, but it does make things easier. So directories for the last few  
> days would be:

> 2009-09-22

> 2009-09-23

> 2009-09-24



> When asking the user for a date, or telling him a date, by all means use  
> your country's preferred format, as you say.



> You mention timestamping the file. While that can be done (Unix touch,  
> for example), I consider it a last resort for keeping track of useful  
> information. At best, it should be an extra "reminder" of something  
> that's already in the file contents. And since many programs make the  
> assumption that if the timestamp doesn't change, the contents haven't  
> changed, you can only reasonably do this on a file whose contents are  
> fixed when first created.



> If you control the internal format of the file, put the date there,  
> perhaps right after the header which defines the data type and version.





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