What Is Data Type for Date in PostgreSQL?

In PostgreSQL, the date data type is used to store date values. It represents a specific day, month, and year in the Gregorian calendar. The date data type is very useful when working with applications that require storing and manipulating dates, such as event management systems, financial applications, and scheduling software.

Creating a Date Column

To create a column with the date data type in PostgreSQL, you can use the following syntax:

CREATE TABLE table_name (
    column_name DATE
);

This creates a new table with a single column named column_name, which has the date data type.

Inserting Date Values

To insert date values into a table, you can use the INSERT INTO statement. The date should be specified in the format ‘YYYY-MM-DD’.

INSERT INTO table_name (column_name)
VALUES ('2022-01-01');

This will insert the date ‘2022-01-01’ into the specified column of the table.

Date Functions and Operators

PostgreSQL provides several functions and operators that can be used to manipulate and compare dates.

Date Arithmetic

• +: Adds an interval to a date
• -: Subtracts an interval from a date or calculates the difference between two dates

Date Comparison Operators

• =: Checks if two dates are equal
• != or <>: Checks if two dates are not equal
• <: Checks if one date is earlier than another
• >: Checks if one date is later than another
• <=: Checks if one date is earlier than or equal to another
• >=: Checks if one date is later than or equal to another

Date Functions

• current_date(): Returns the current date as a value of the date data type.
• extract(field FROM date): Extracts the specified field from a date. The field can be year, month, day, etc.
• date_part(text, timestamp): Returns the specified part of a timestamp. The text can be ‘year’, ‘month’, ‘day’, etc.

Working with Dates in Queries

You can use the date data type in various queries to filter and manipulate data based on specific dates.

SELECT *
FROM table_name
WHERE column_name = '2022-01-01';

This query selects all rows from the table where the value in the column named column_name is equal to ‘2022-01-01’.

Conclusion

The date data type in PostgreSQL allows you to store and manipulate dates effectively. With its built-in functions and operators, you can perform various operations such as comparing dates, extracting date parts, and performing date arithmetic. Understanding how to work with dates in PostgreSQL is essential for developing applications that require date-related functionality.