python/selenium (pytest) automation, I have 2 different path for date function and I want to add them in one def method

1. What you are asking for is not a good design pattern. Instead investigate the page object model (POM) which uses one class to contain all locators and methods for a corresponding page. Each page will have it's own class, e.g. loginpage.py for the login page. So you would have two different page objects, each with a selectdate() or whatever method and each with their version of the field locator. This makes it very clear what code belongs to each page so if there are updates needed, you go to the page object that corresponds to the page that changed and update locators, methods, etc. It makes maintenance MUCH easier and readability is great. If you do this well, the code in your test will be almost human readable.

2. wait.until(...) returns the found element(s). So,

   wait.until(...)
   element = self.driver.findelement(...)
   ...
   element.sendkeys(startdate)
   

   becomes

   wait.until(EC.visibilityofelementlocated(...).sendkeys(startdate)
   

3. You've got code processing and formatting a date in the middle of selectstartdate(). Refactor that into a method, getdate() in another class, e.g. datetimehelper.py so that it's more reusable. Also, add a parameter to that method for the days ahead so it's even more flexible. You can even put a default value in as 1 for tomorrow.
   datetimehelper.py

   from datetime import date, timedelta
   def getdate(daysahead: int = 1):
       return date.today() + timedelta(days=daysahead)
   

4. 80s is a REALLY long wait... I would put the default at 10s and adjust as needed.

5. Don't declare a variable in an except unless you are going to use it.

   except Exception as e:
   

   becomes

   except Exception:
   

6. Also, don't catch Exception... that's WAY too broad. Catch only specific exceptions that you expect in "normal" circumstances. Otherwise you will run into some strange issue and won't be able to debug properly because you are eating ALL exceptions.

7. Using time.sleep() is a bad practice also. Instead use WebDriverWait() and wait for a specific condition. I'm not saying don't ever use it... there are some instances when it's needed but always prefer WebDriverWait because it's a "smart wait". You may give it a timeout of 10s but if the element is immediately visible or clickable, the code will proceed. It only waits until the timeout if the condition isn't fulfilled which makes your script run faster and more predictably.

8. Don't define locators as strings. Instead define as a By so that it's more usable and flexible.

   startdatefieldxpath="//input[@placeholder='Start date']"
   

   becomes

   startdatefield = (By.XPATH, "//input[@placeholder='Start date']")
   

from selenium import webdriver
from datetimehelper import getdate
from somepage1 import SomePage1
from somepage2 import SomePage2
URL = "https://www.website.com"
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.maximizewindow()
driver.get(URL)
somepage1 = SomePage1(driver)
somepage1.selectstartdate(getdate())
do other stuff on page 1
navigate to new page
somepage2 = SomePage2(driver)
somepage2.selectstartdate(getdate())
driver.quit()

from datetime import date, timedelta
def getdate(daysahead: int = 1):
    return (date.today() + timedelta(days=daysahead)).strftime("%Y%m%d")

import logging
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.common.exceptions import TimeoutException
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.common.actionchains import ActionChains
from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys
from selenium.webdriver.support import expectedconditions as EC
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
class SomePage1:
    '''The name of the first page that uses selectstartdate().'''
    def init(self, driver: webdriver):
        self.driver = driver
        self.logger = logging.getLogger() # Put into it's own class for consistency.
        self.startdatefield = (By.XPATH, "//input[@placeholder='Start date']")
    def selectstartdate(self, startdate):
        '''Selects the trip Start Date'''
        try:
            wait = WebDriverWait(self.driver, 10)
            wait.until(EC.visibilityofelementlocated(self.startdatefield)).sendkeys(startdate)
            # add appropriate wait here
            ActionChains(self.driver).sendkeys(Keys.ESCAPE).perform()
            self.logger.info("Selected start date")
        except TimeoutException as e:
            self.logger.info("Could not select start date")
            self.logger.info("Exception message: %s", e)
            assert False

import logging
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.common.exceptions import TimeoutException
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.common.actionchains import ActionChains
from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys
from selenium.webdriver.support import expectedconditions as EC
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
class SomePage2:
    '''The name of the second page that uses selectstartdate().'''
    def init(self, driver: webdriver):
        self.driver = driver
        self.logger = logging.getLogger() # Put into it's own class for consistency.
        self.selectdatefield = (By.XPATH, "//input[@placeholder='Choose a date']")
    def selectstartdate(self, startdate):
        '''Selects the trip Start Date'''
        try:
            wait = WebDriverWait(self.driver, 10)
            wait.until(EC.visibilityofelementlocated(self.selectdatefield)).sendkeys(startdate)
            # add appropriate wait here
            ActionChains(self.driver).sendkeys(Keys.ESCAPE).perform()
            self.logger.info("Selected start date")
        except TimeoutException as e:
            self.logger.info("Could not select start date")
            raise