What Is the Data Type for Date in SQL?
When working with databases, it is common to store and manipulate dates. In SQL, there is a specific data type designed for this purpose called the DATE data type.
The DATE Data Type
The DATE data type represents a date value in SQL. It stores dates in the format ‘YYYY-MM-DD’, where YYYY represents the year, MM represents the month, and DD represents the day.
For example:
- ‘2022-01-01’ represents January 1st, 2022.
- ‘1990-12-31’ represents December 31st, 1990.
Using the DATE Data Type
To use the DATE data type in SQL, you need to declare a column with this data type when creating a table. For example:
CREATE TABLE employees (
id INT,
name VARCHAR(100),
hire_date DATE
);
In this example, the hire_date column is declared with the DATE data type. This allows you to store and manipulate date values for each employee.
Date Functions and Operations
The DATE data type comes with various built-in functions and operators that allow you to perform operations on dates. Some common functions include:
- NOW(): Returns the current date and time.
- CURRENT_DATE(): Returns the current date.
- DATE_ADD(): Adds a specific time interval to a date.
- DATE_SUB(): Subtracts a specific time interval from a date.
- EXTRACT(): Extracts a specific part (year, month, day, etc.) from a date.
Using these functions, you can perform various operations such as calculating the difference between two dates, extracting the year or month from a date, and more.
Conclusion
The DATE data type in SQL allows you to store and manipulate date values effectively. By using this data type and its associated functions, you can perform various operations on dates and ensure accurate storage and retrieval of date information in your database.
Remember to always check the specific SQL implementation you are working with, as there might be slight variations in syntax or available functions for handling dates.