CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c
dmessf
dmessf

Reputation: 1013

C - Convert time_t to string with format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS

Is there any way to convert a time_t to a std::string with the format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS automatically while keeping the code portable?

Upvotes: 44

Views: 111441

Answers (3)

Jerry Coffin
Jerry Coffin

Reputation: 490078

Use localtime to convert the time_t to a struct tm. You can use strftime to print the desired data from that.

#include <time.h>
...
char buff[20];
time_t now = time(NULL);
strftime(buff, 20, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S", localtime(&now));

Upvotes: 76

OpticalMagician
OpticalMagician

Reputation: 103

If you want to have a function that can be called at multiple points in your code you can try this. It is based on the top answer, which you really should mark as accepted btw...

#include <ctime>
#include <string>

std::string get_localtime() {
    char buffer[80];
    std::time_t now = std::time(nullptr);
    std::strftime(buffer, 80, "%Y-%m-%d-%H:%M:%S", localtime(&now));
    std::string result(buffer);
    return result;
}

Hope this helps someone.

Upvotes: 0

jer
jer

Reputation: 20236

Your only real option off the top of my head is either to write your own routine, or use the ctime() function defined in POSIX.1/C90. ctime() is certainly worth looking into, but if your date is not in the right timezone already, you will run into issues.

EDIT: I didn't think about using localtime as mentioned by Jerry below. Converting it to a struct tm does give you more possibilities including what he mentions, and strptime().

Upvotes: 1

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