Reading and parsing a CSV file in Python with Regex first column

Question

I have a CSV file (calendar), 5 columns that I want to read and parse with the following conditions using a script:

Deleting headers (done)
Change the format of the first column from 01/01/2019 to 20190101 in the First column

The first part of the script is done to skip headers. The second part I think a regex is required but I just don't know how to first remove the / and then move the 0101 from before 2019 to after 2019 so that the result is 20190101

If someone could help that would be great!

def parse_calendar(infile, outfile):
    with open(outfile, 'w', newline='') as output:
        with open(infile, newline='') as input:
            reader = csv.reader(input, delimiter=',', quotechar='"')
            next(reader, None)  # skip the headers
            writer = csv.writer(output, delimiter=',', quotechar='"')
            for row in reader:   # process each row
                writer.writerow(row)

I expect the output to be like the following compared to the initial file:

01/01/2019 New Year's Day N C US

20190101 New Year's Day N C US

possible duplicate of How can pass the current datetime to string in python? You can convert the timestamp to a string and then can use the replace() method to change the / : to `` or backspace — Mario
– Mario, Commented May 29, 2019 at 22:39
It’s not a duplicate. The column is part of a csv file and is not a timestamp type. Plus also if you remove the ‘/‘ , I still need something that moves the first 4 characters after the last one, meaning 01012019 has to become 20190101. And would be best if it’s code added to the script I already have. This action is performed on the first column in the file. Thanks! — MtlTechGuy
– MtlTechGuy, Commented May 29, 2019 at 22:54
I don't see eye to eye with you. Nevertheless you could use strftime() and modify it from ("%Y-%m-%d %H-%M-%S") to any form you want to. — Mario
– Mario, Commented May 29, 2019 at 23:29
@V.Montréal seems like you already have a way to do most of what you want. I'd say your question boils down to just "how to change the format of a date string in python?" — user5051310
– user5051310, Commented May 29, 2019 at 23:33

MtlTechGuy · Accepted Answer · 2019-05-29 23:56:02Z

Thanks guys for the responses.

So with this code I get the following output:

import csv

def parse_calendar(infile, outfile):
    with open(outfile, 'w', newline='') as output:
        with open(infile, newline='') as input:
            reader = csv.reader(input, delimiter=',', quotechar='"')
            next(reader, None)  # skip the headers
            writer = csv.writer(output, delimiter=',', quotechar='"')
            for row in reader: # process each row
                replaced = row[0].replace('/','')  
                row[0] = replaced
                writer.writerow(row)

01012018,New Year's Day,N,C,US

01012018,New Year's Day,N,C,CA

01152018,Martin L. King Day,N,C,US

What code do I need to add to the script get the formatting different now from 01012018 to 20180101 given the type is a String? For each line then off course.

Appreciate it alot thanks

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