Data Type Conversion and Conversion Functions

Figure 1 illustrates details about the conversion between datetime strings, datetime objects, and Unix timestamps, along with the corresponding conversion functions.

Figure 1 Conversion relationship
Click to enlarge

Table 1 details the specific conversion scenarios and functions.

**Table 1** Conversion description
Conversion Scenario		Conversion Function
Conversion between datetime objects and Unix timestamps	Converting a datetime object to a Unix timestamp	Intelligent conversion function: dt_parsetimestamp, which converts a datetime object or datetime string to a Unix timestamp. Dedicated function: dt_totimestamp, which converts only a datetime object to a Unix timestamp.
Conversion between datetime objects and Unix timestamps	Converting a Unix timestamp to a datetime object	Intelligent conversion function: dt_parse, which converts a Unix timestamp or datetime string to a datetime object. Dedicated function: dt_fromtimestamp, which converts only a Unix timestamp to a datetime object.
Conversion between datetime objects and datetime strings	Converting a datetime object to a datetime string	Intelligent conversion function: dt_str, which converts a datetime object, Unix timestamp, or datetime string to a datetime string in a specified format. Dedicated function: dt_strftime, which converts only a datetime object to a datetime string.
Conversion between datetime objects and datetime strings	Converting a datetime string to a datetime object	Intelligent conversion function: dt_parse, which converts a datetime string or Unix timestamp to a datetime object. Dedicated function: dt_strptime, which converts only a datetime string to a datetime object.
Conversion between datetime strings and Unix timestamps	Converting a datetime string to a Unix timestamp	Intelligent conversion function: dt_parsetimestamp, which converts a datetime string or datetime object to a Unix timestamp.
Conversion between datetime strings and Unix timestamps	Converting a Unix timestamp to a datetime string	Intelligent conversion function: dt_str, which converts a Unix timestamp, datetime object, or datetime string to a datetime string in a specified format. Dedicated function: dt_strftimestamp, which converts only a Unix timestamp to a datetime string.

The preceding figure and table outline six conversion types among the three data types. Each conversion type offers two methods: using an intelligent conversion function or a dedicated conversion function.

Intelligent conversion functions
These functions (for example, dt_parse) can accept parameters of various types, such as Unix timestamp, datetime object, and datetime string, to intelligently perform the conversion.
Dedicated functions
Intelligent conversion functions may meet all user requirements. For example, if a user specifies a unique or non-standard date format, intelligent functions like dt_parse may fail to automatically parse the log data. In such cases, a dedicated function like dt_strptime must be used to parse the specified format.