C++ asctime()

The asctime() function is defined in <ctime> header file.

asctime() prototype

char* asctime(const struct tm * time_ptr);

The asctime() function takes a pointer to tm object as its parameter and returns a text representation for a given calendar time of the form:

Www Mmm dd hh:mm:ss yyyy

asctime() Representation

Type Description Obtained From Values
Www 3 letter day of week time_ptr -> tm_wday Mon to Sun
Mmm 3 letter month names time_ptr -> tm_mon Jan to Dec
dd 2 digit days of month time_ptr -> tm_mday 00 to 31
hh 2 digit hour time_ptr -> tm_hour 00 to 23
mm 2 digit minute time_ptr -> tm_min 00 to 59
ss 2 digit second time_ptr -> tm_sec 00 to 59
yyyy 4 digit year time_ptr -> tm_year + 1900 4 digit year

asctime() Parameters

  • time_ptr: pointer to a tm object to be converted.

asctime() Return value

  • Pointer to a null terminated string the points to the character representation of the given time.

Example: How asctime() function works?

#include <iostream>
#include <ctime>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
	time_t curr_time;

	time(&curr_time);
	cout << "Current date and time: " << asctime(localtime(&curr_time));

	return 0;
}

When you run the program, the output will be:

Current date and time: Tue Mar 21 13:52:57 2017

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