Python - checking for characters in date string

Question

I'm just kind of confused with Python at the moment. I want to ask the user to input the date in a specific format. But I also want to check if there are two "/" in the input. Ex: MM/DD/YYYY.... or else I would output an error message.

This is what I have so far:

date = str((raw_input("Please enter a date in the form MM/DD/YYYY: ")))
while date[(2),(5)]!="/":
    date_input=(str(raw_input("Error: Your date must be in the format YYYY/MM/DD including the slashes, try again: ")))

But I'm pretty stuck. Can anyone help me? Thanks.

First you ask for a date in a certain format and put it in a certain variable, but then, if it has the wrong format, you then ask for it in a different format and put it in a different variable! By the way, raw_import returns a string, so there's no need to use str. — MRAB
– MRAB, Commented Jun 13, 2012 at 2:19

Ned Batchelder · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-13 00:55:23Z

2

Use datetime.strptime to parse the date, and it will tell you when the format is wrong:

import datetime
d = datetime.datetime.now()
try:
    d.strptime(date_str, "%d/%m/%Y")
except ValueError:
    print "Bad format!"

edited Jun 13, 2012 at 0:55

answered Jun 13, 2012 at 0:40

Ned Batchelder

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