Python: Converting from `datetime.datetime` to `time.time`

Question

In Python, how do I convert a datetime.datetime into the kind of float that I would get from the time.time function?

Answer 1

Given a datetime.datetime object dt, you could use

(dt - datetime.datetime.utcfromtimestamp(0)).total_seconds()

Example:

>>> dt = datetime.datetime.now(); t = time.time()
>>> t
1320516581.727343
>>> (dt - datetime.datetime.utcfromtimestamp(0)).total_seconds()
1320516581.727296

Note that the timedelta.total_seconds() method was introduced in Python 2.7.