Skip to main content

How to get the Current SQL Server Date and Time ?

How to retrieve the Local Date and Time in sql server ?

A common task in SQL Server is the retrieval of the local date and time from the server.
Usually, it is more appropriate for a database-linked application to obtain the time from the server than from the local machine, as this ensures that all users are using the same basis for the time.
If a user's local clock is set incorrectly, the use of the server's clock ensures that an invalid date or time is not stored.

Using the CURRENT_TIMESTAMP

SQL Server defines a value named CURRENT_TIMESTAMP.
This value can be included in aquery using a select statement or can be assigned to a DateTime variable to obtain the current local time. To demonstrate, try the following statements using a SQL Server Management Studio query window. The first will output the local time to the results window, the second will hold the time in a variable before printing the variable's value in the messages window.

NB: When the current date and time is retrieved in a select statement, the same date and time is included in every resultant row, even if the query takes a long time to run.

-- Select the current local time
SELECT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP

-- Print the current local time
DECLARE @CurrentTime DATETIME
SET @CurrentTime = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
PRINT @CurrentTime

Using the GetDate Function

The GetDate function is equivalent to CURRENT_TIMESTAMP. When you execute the function, the local date and time from the SQL Server's internal clock is returned.

-- Select the current local time
SELECT getdate()

-- Print the current local time
DECLARE @CurrentTime DATETIME
SET @CurrentTime = getdate()
PRINT @CurrentTime

Retrieving the UTC Date and Time

The methods described in the previous section allow you to obtain the current local date and time from a SQL Server. If you are using the information to mark the time that a row was modified in a database, especially if you are working with a system that is used in many time zones, the local time may not be appropriate. Instead, you may want to record the Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC).
This time is the same in every world time zone and can be easily converted to and from any user's local date and time. It is also unaffected by daylight savings time changes, which can appear to change the order of events in a database when activities occurs just before and after an adjustment to the local time.
To obtain the current UTC date and time, you can use the GetUtcDate function as follows:

-- Select the current local time
SELECT getutcdate()

-- Print the current local time
DECLARE @CurrentTime DATETIME
SET @CurrentTime = getutcdate()
PRINT @CurrentTime
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is (Computer) Networking?

In the world of computers, networking is the practice of linking two or more computing devices together for the purpose of sharing data. Networks are built with a mix of computer hardware and computer software. Area Networks Networks can be categorized in several different ways. One approach defines the type of network according to the geographic area it spans.Local area networks (LAN), for example, typically span a single home, school, or small office building, whereas wide area networks (WAN), reach across cities, states, or even across the world. The Internet is the world's largest public WAN. One way to categorize the different types of computer network designs is by their scope or scale. For historical reasons, the networking industry refers to nearly every type of design as some kind of area network. Common examples of area network types are: LAN - Local Area Network WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network WAN - Wide Area Network MAN - Metropolitan Area Network SAN - ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to clear screen in sqlplus

If you want to clear screen in sqlplus window there is small cmd that you need to remember which is below, SQL> select username from dba_users; USERNAME -------------------- BOCMS BOAUDIT  CKI8727 GRU9151 MNA9189 FRE9283  KKO8750  KMU8649 HME9041 ZLP1492 DBE9176  QRA8651  PFI8706 SQL> host cls Once you hit enter the screen will be cleared. SQL> select username from dba_users; USERNAME -------------------- BOCMS BOAUDIT  CKI8727 GRU9151 MNA9189 FRE9283  KKO8750  KMU8649 HME9041 ZLP1492 DBE9176  QRA8651  PFI8706 SQL>clear screen Once you hit enter the screen will be cleared.
Post a Comment
Read more

How to setup Amazon EC2 Instances in Amazon Cloud?

I. Register for Amazon EC2 1. Go to aws.amazon.com and make an account. 2. Read over all appropriate charges that you will incur. You'll be charged for bandwidth, disk io, the server itself, ebs volumes, etc. There is a free tier for new customers but you will probably incur some extra charges outside of that tier. 3. Understand pricing structure of EC2 servers. There are 3 pricing tiers. Servers are charged per hour of usage. On Demand: Most expensive but pay as you go and guaranteed server time. Set up within seconds usually. Reserved: Same as on demand but you pay for access to lower prices for 1 or 3 years with a one time fee. Spot: (what i generally use) based on bid for unused servers. Cheapest prices of all. Set a maximum price you're wiling to pay for server time and a server is obtained through a bidding process. Usually costs 1/3 of price of on demand instances. If current bid prices rises above your maximum bid your server will be shut down and your data...
Post a Comment
Read more