Python - How to sort date string in a Data Frame?

Question

I have a df pandas.core.series.Series such that:

0        11/8/16
1        11/8/16
2        6/12/16
3       10/11/15
4       10/11/15
          ...   
9989     1/21/14
9990     2/26/17
9991     2/26/17
9992     2/26/17
9993     12/30/17

If I use max() on it, it shows the latest date as '9/9/17', instead of the actual maximum which is, in this case '12/30/17'.

I understand why it is happens - because 9 > 1.

How can I fix it?

I'd suggest using datetime.strptime to convert those to date objects for comparison. — theherk
– theherk, Commented Mar 31, 2022 at 20:27
This doesn't look like a numpy array. What exactly is the object? Can you provide the code to construct it? — mozway
– mozway, Commented Mar 31, 2022 at 20:27

not_speshal · Accepted Answer · 2022-03-31 20:30:10Z

1

Convert the dates to timestamps first:

import pandas as pd
df["date"] = pd.to_datetime(df["date"], format="%m/%d/%y")
>>> df["date"].max()

edited Mar 31, 2022 at 20:30

answered Mar 31, 2022 at 20:27

not_speshal

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2 Comments

theherk Over a year ago

This would work, but it would be good to indicate when using 3rd party libraries that require installation, like pandas.

not_speshal Over a year ago

What OP provided looks like a pandas.Series and not an "array" as they claim.

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