Python 3.3+timefunction

time.get_clock_info()

clocks and timing

Information about a clock by name: resolution, monotonicity, whether it can be adjusted, and which system call backs it.

Syntax

time.get_clock_info(name)

The name is a string without the module prefix: 'time', 'monotonic', 'perf_counter', 'process_time', 'thread_time'; anything else raises ValueError. adjustable=True for 'time' is exactly why you should not measure intervals with it. resolution is the step of readings, not accuracy: a clock with a 1 ns step can still be off by milliseconds.

Examples

import time
print(time.get_clock_info('monotonic').monotonic)  # → True
print(time.get_clock_info('time').adjustable)  # → True
print(time.get_clock_info('perf_counter').implementation)  # → ? clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC)
try:
    time.get_clock_info('clock')
except ValueError as e:
    print(e)  # → unknown clock

See also

Common errors

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