As of 3.3, time.clock() is deprecated, and it's suggested to use time.process_time() or time.perf_counter() instead.
Previously in 2.7, according to the time module docs:
time.clock()
On Unix, return the current processor time as a floating point number expressed in seconds. The precision, and in fact the very definition of the meaning of “processor time”, depends on that of the C function of the same name, but in any case, this is the function to use for benchmarking Python or timing algorithms.
On Windows, this function returns wall-clock seconds elapsed since the first call to this function, as a floating point number, based on the Win32 function QueryPerformanceCounter(). The resolution is typically better than one microsecond.
Additionally, there is the timeit module for benchmarking code snippets.
Answer from Jason Navarrete on Stack OverflowAs of 3.3, time.clock() is deprecated, and it's suggested to use time.process_time() or time.perf_counter() instead.
Previously in 2.7, according to the time module docs:
time.clock()
On Unix, return the current processor time as a floating point number expressed in seconds. The precision, and in fact the very definition of the meaning of “processor time”, depends on that of the C function of the same name, but in any case, this is the function to use for benchmarking Python or timing algorithms.
On Windows, this function returns wall-clock seconds elapsed since the first call to this function, as a floating point number, based on the Win32 function QueryPerformanceCounter(). The resolution is typically better than one microsecond.
Additionally, there is the timeit module for benchmarking code snippets.
The short answer is: most of the time time.clock() will be better.
However, if you're timing some hardware (for example some algorithm you put in the GPU), then time.clock() will get rid of this time and time.time() is the only solution left.
Note: whatever the method used, the timing will depend on factors you cannot control (when will the process switch, how often, ...), this is worse with time.time() but exists also with time.clock(), so you should never run one timing test only, but always run a series of test and look at mean/variance of the times.
Videos
From the Python 3.8 doc:
The function
time.clock()has been removed, after having been deprecated since Python 3.3: usetime.perf_counter()ortime.process_time()instead, depending on your requirements, to have well-defined behavior. (Contributed by Matthias Bussonnier in bpo-36895.)
Check if you are using PyCrypto, if yes, uninstall it and install PyCryptodome which is a fork of PyCrypto
PyCrypto is dead as mentioned on project issue page
Since both these libraries can coexist, it could be an issue too
pip3 uninstall PyCrypto
pip3 install -U PyCryptodome