SQL Timestamp to Date Conversion: A Practical Guide

Master Unix timestamp to date conversion in SQL for MySQL, PostgreSQL, and more. Free tool to verify your timestamp conversions!

SQL Timestamp to Date Conversion: A Practical Guide

Unix timestamps are widely used in SQL databases for compact time storage. This guide explains how to convert timestamps to dates and vice versa in MySQL and PostgreSQL, with DevUtils’ free tool for validation.

Timestamps in SQL

A Unix timestamp stores time as seconds (or milliseconds) since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. For example, 1694870400 is September 16, 2023, 00:00:00 UTC. It’s space-efficient and easy to compare (Keywords: timestamp sql).

Timestamp to Date

• MySQL：Use FROM_UNIXTIME

SELECT FROM_UNIXTIME(1694870400) AS datetime;
-- Output: 2023-09-16 00:00:00

• PostgreSQL：Use TO_TIMESTAMP

SELECT TO_TIMESTAMP(1694870400) AS datetime;
-- Output: 2023-09-16 00:00:00

Keywords: convert timestamp to datetime.

Date to Timestamp

• MySQL：Use UNIX_TIMESTAMP

SELECT UNIX_TIMESTAMP('2023-09-16 00:00:00') AS timestamp;
-- Output: 1694870400

• PostgreSQL：Use EXTRACT

SELECT EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM TIMESTAMP '2023-09-16 00:00:00') AS timestamp;
-- Output: 1694870400

Keywords: convert datetime to timestamp.

Best Practices

• Timezones: Ensure database timezone is set (e.g., UTC) to avoid offsets.
• Milliseconds: For 13-digit timestamps, divide by 1000:

SELECT FROM_UNIXTIME(1694870400000 / 1000) AS datetime;

Keywords: unix timestamp in milliseconds.

Verification Tool

DevUtils’ Timestamp Converter is perfect for testing SQL conversions:

• Input timestamps to verify dates.
• Generate timestamps from dates, including Discord formats.
• Secure, client-side processing.

SQL timestamp conversions are straightforward with the right functions. DevUtils’ free Timestamp Tool simplifies validation, boosting your database efficiency. Try it today!