Using mktime to convert date to seconds since epoch - omitting elements from the tuple?

[Dave Angel]

On 01/02/2013 12:34 PM, Chris Angelico wrote:
> On Thu, Jan 3, 2013 at 4:27 AM, Roy Smith <roy at panix.com> wrote:
>> In article <mailman.1574.1357138278.29569.python-list at python.org>,
>> Chris Angelico  <rosuav at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>> I assume you mean timestamps. A date doesn't need to worry about UTC
>>>> the way a timestamp does.
>> I'm not sure how a date and a timestamp differ in any significant
>> way.  A date is just a very low-precision time.
>>
>> I suppose what's really essential is a way to quickly see the current
>> UTC time.  That way, when you're looking at some event in a log file,
>> it's easy to figure out, "that was 20 minutes ago", as opposed to,
>> "that was 5 hours and 20 minutes ago".  I run my desktop in New York
>> time (so I know when I'm supposed to eat lunch), but I also have a
>> second clock widget displaying UTC time just below it.  Right now,
>> it's 17:22.
> The difference between "20 minutes ago" and "5 hours and 20 minutes
> ago" doesn't really come up when your resolution is 86400 seconds, as
> is the case with a date :)

Only 20.83 % of the time for that timezone.  You might not notice it if
you always log off by 7pm.

>
> I have the same sort of thing. My desktop's clock is on local time
> (4:33AM), but my server tells me, when I type 'who', that "The current
> UTC (GMT) time is: Wed 17:33:35" (it doesn't bother with the date,
> only the day of week, as the main purpose of that time display is to
> help people synchronize on weekly events).
>
> ChrisA


-- 

DaveA