gh-137758: Clarify os.stat_result time fields (since Unix epoch) and add datetime conversion note #137761
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… the Unix epoch Clarify that `os.stat_result` time fields (`st_atime`, `st_mtime`, `st_ctime`, `st_birthtime`) and their `*_ns` variants are measured since the Unix epoch (00:00:00 UTC, 1970-01-01). Add a short note showing how to convert these timestamps to `datetime` using `datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp`, including a UTC example. Documentation-only; no behavior change. Files touched: Doc/library/os.rst Co-authored-by: tangyuan0821 <tangyuan0821@hotmail.com>
…indicate that it is the number of seconds since the Unix epoch.
nedbat
approved these changes
Aug 14, 2025
StanFromIreland
requested changes
Aug 14, 2025
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Summary:
st_atime,st_mtime,st_ctime,st_birthtimeand their*_nsvariants) are measured since the Unix epoch (00:00:00 UTC, 1970-01-01).datetimeusingdatetime.fromtimestamp()and UTC example.Linked issue:
Changes：
st_atime,st_mtime,st_ctime→ “seconds since the epoch”.st_atime_ns,st_mtime_ns,st_ctime_ns→ “nanoseconds since the epoch”.st_birthtime,st_birthtime_ns→ explicitly reference the epoch.time.time; includedatetimeconversion examples.📚 Documentation preview 📚: https://cpython-previews--137761.org.readthedocs.build/