title: In Python, is epoch time returned by time() always measured from Jan 1, 1970?
body: <p>Is the epoch start time in Python independent of the platform (i.e. always 1/1/1970)?</p>
  
  <p>Or is it platform dependent?</p>
  
  <p>I want to serialize datetimes (with second accuracy) on various machines running Python, and be able to read them back on different platforms, possibly also using different programming languages (than Python). Is serializing epoch time a good idea?</p>