< SQL Server Date Functions
Definition and Usage
The GETDATE() function returns the current date and time from the SQL Server.
Syntax
GETDATE()
Example
The following SELECT statement:
SELECT GETDATE() AS CurrentDateTime
will result in something like this:
| CurrentDateTime |
|---|
| 2014-11-22 12:45:34.243 |
Note: The time part above goes all the way to milliseconds.
Example
The following SQL creates an "Orders" table with a datetime column (OrderDate):
CREATE TABLE Orders
(
OrderId int NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
ProductName varchar(50) NOT NULL,
OrderDate datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT GETDATE()
)
Notice that the OrderDate column specifies GETDATE() as the default value. As a result, when you insert a row into the table, the current date and time are automatically inserted into the column.
Now we want to insert a record into the "Orders" table:
INSERT INTO Orders (ProductName) VALUES ('Jarlsberg Cheese')
The "Orders" table will now look something like this:
| OrderId | ProductName | OrderDate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jarlsberg Cheese | 2014-11-22 13:23:44.657 |
< SQL Server Date Functions