MYSQL Tutorial

MySQL DATES

MySQL Date & Time Functions

MySQL provides built-in functions to work with dates and times—retrieving the current date/time, formatting, extracting parts, and calculating differences.

Common Functions

Function	Description	Example
`CURDATE()`	Returns current date	`SELECT CURDATE();`
`NOW()`	Returns current date & time	`SELECT NOW();`
`DATE_FORMAT()`	Formats date/time by pattern	`SELECT DATE_FORMAT(NOW(), '%Y-%m-%d');`
`DATEDIFF()`	Difference in days between dates	`SELECT DATEDIFF('2025-06-10','2025-06-01');`
`DATE_ADD()`	Add interval to date	`SELECT DATE_ADD(CURDATE(), INTERVAL 7 DAY);`
`DATE_SUB()`	Subtract interval from date	`SELECT DATE_SUB(NOW(), INTERVAL 1 MONTH);`
`YEAR()/MONTH()/DAY()`	Extract year, month, or day	`SELECT YEAR(order_date) FROM orders;`

Example Usage

-- Show orders from last 30 days
SELECT * FROM orders
WHERE order_date >= DATE_SUB(CURDATE(), INTERVAL 30 DAY);

-- Format created_at as 'DD Month YYYY'
SELECT DATE_FORMAT(created_at, '%d %M %Y') AS formatted_date
FROM posts;

-- Calculate days between two dates
SELECT DATEDIFF(shipped_date, order_date) AS days_to_ship
FROM orders;

Tips & Best Practices

Store dates in DATE or DATETIME types, not strings.
Use indexes on date columns for faster range queries.
Be mindful of time zones; use UTC_TIMESTAMP() if needed.
Combine DATE_FORMAT() with locale-specific patterns for reports.

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