Python: Get different time values with components timezone, timezone abbreviations

Last update on July 22 2025 11:12:32 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

57. Timezone Components Fetcher

Write a Python program to get different time values with components timezone, timezone abbreviations, the offset of the local (non-DST) timezone, DST timezone and time of different timezones.

Sample Solution:

Python Code:

# Import the time module
import time
# Import the os module
import os

# Define a function named zone_info to print timezone information
def zone_info():
   # Print the current value of the TZ environment variable
   print('TZ   :', os.environ.get('TZ', '(not set)'))
   # Print the timezone abbreviations (Eastern, Pacific, etc.)
   print('Timezone abbreviations:', time.tzname)
   # Print the timezone offset from UTC in seconds, and in hours
   print('Timezone : {} ({})'.format(
       time.timezone, (time.timezone / 3600)))
   # Print whether daylight saving time (DST) is in effect
   print('DST timezone ', time.daylight)
   # Print the current time with formatting (%X: time, %x: date, %Z: timezone)
   print('Time :', time.strftime('%X %x %Z'),'\n')

# Print a message indicating default timezone
print('Default Zone:')
# Call the zone_info function to print information about the default timezone
zone_info()

# Define a list of timezones to be tested
TIME_ZONES = [
   'Pacific/Auckland',
   'Europe/Berlin',
   'America/Detroit',
   'Singapore',
]

# Iterate over each timezone in the TIME_ZONES list
for zone in TIME_ZONES:
   # Set the TZ environment variable to the current timezone
   os.environ['TZ'] = zone
   # Apply the timezone change
   time.tzset()
   # Print the current timezone
   print(zone, ':')
   # Call the zone_info function to print information about the current timezone
   zone_info()

Output:

Default Zone:
TZ   : (not set)
Timezone abbreviations: ('UTC', 'UTC')
Timezone : 0 (0.0)
DST timezone  0
Time : 11:30:05 04/13/21 UTC 

Pacific/Auckland :
TZ   : Pacific/Auckland
Timezone abbreviations: ('NZST', 'NZDT')
Timezone : -43200 (-12.0)
DST timezone  1
Time : 23:30:05 04/13/21 NZST 

Europe/Berlin :
TZ   : Europe/Berlin
Timezone abbreviations: ('CET', 'CEST')
Timezone : -3600 (-1.0)
DST timezone  1
Time : 13:30:05 04/13/21 CEST 

America/Detroit :
TZ   : America/Detroit
Timezone abbreviations: ('EST', 'EDT')
Timezone : 18000 (5.0)
DST timezone  1
Time : 07:30:05 04/13/21 EDT 

Singapore :
TZ   : Singapore
Timezone abbreviations: ('+08', '+08')
Timezone : -28800 (-8.0)
DST timezone  0
Time : 19:30:05 04/13/21 +08

Explanation:

In the exercise above,

The code imports the "time" and "os" modules.
It defines a function named "zone_info()" to print timezone information, such as the value of the "TZ" environment variable, timezone abbreviations, timezone offset from UTC, and whether daylight saving time (DST) is in effect.
It prints a message indicating the default timezone and calls the "zone_info()" function to print information about it.
It defines a list of timezones ('TIME_ZONES') to be tested.
It iterates over each timezone in the 'TIME_ZONES' list.
Inside the loop:

It sets the 'TZ' environment variable to the current timezone.
It applies the timezone change using "time.tzset()".
It prints the name of the current timezone.
It calls the "zone_info()" function to print information about the current timezone.

Flowchart:

Flowchart: Get different time values with components timezone, timezone abbreviations.

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

Write a Python program to display detailed timezone information including timezone name, offset, and DST status using the time module.
Write a Python script to fetch and print the local timezone, its abbreviation, and offset from UTC for both standard and daylight saving times.
Write a Python function to retrieve and compare timezone components for multiple timezones (e.g., UTC, EST, PST) and then display the differences.
Write a Python program to get the current local time along with its timezone information and then format the output to include both local and DST details.

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