Date and time functions

This page describes the available functions to assist with performing time-based calculations.

info

Checking if tables contain a designated timestamp column can be done via the tables() and table_columns() functions which are described in the meta functions documentation page.

systimestamp#

systimestamp() - offset from UTC Epoch in microseconds. Calculates UTC timestamp using system's real time clock. The value is affected by discontinuous jumps in the system time (e.g., if the system administrator manually changes the system time).

Arguments:

systimestamp() does not accept arguments.

Return value:

Return value type is timestamp.

Examples:

Insert current system timestamp

INSERT INTO readings
VALUES(systimestamp(), 123.5);

ts	reading
2020-01-02T19:28:48.727516Z	123.5

sysdate#

sysdate() - returns the timestamp of the host system as a date with millisecond precision.

Calculates UTC date with millisecond precision using system's real time clock. The value is affected by discontinuous jumps in the system time (e.g., if the system administrator manually changes the system time).

Arguments:

sysdate() does not accept arguments.

Return value:

Return value type is date.

Examples:

Insert current system date along with a value

INSERT INTO readings
VALUES(sysdate(), 123.5);

sysdate	reading
2020-01-02T19:28:48.727516Z	123.5

Query based on last minute

SELECT * FROM readings
WHERE date_time > sysdate() - 60000000L;

now#

now() - offset from UTC Epoch in microseconds.

Calculates UTC timestamp using system's real time clock. Unlike sysdatetime(), it does not change within the query execution timeframe and should be used in WHERE clause to filter designated timestamp column relative to current time, i.e.:

SELECT now() FROM long_sequence(200) will return the same timestamp for all rows
SELECT systimestamp() FROM long_sequence(200) will have new timestamp values for each row

Arguments:

now() does not accept arguments.

Return value:

Return value type is timestamp.

Examples:

Filter records to created within last day

SELECT created, origin FROM telemetry
WHERE created > dateadd('d', -1, now());

created	origin
2021-02-01T21:51:34.443726Z	1

Query returns same timestamp in every row

SELECT now() FROM long_sequence(3)

now
2021-02-01T21:51:34.443726Z
2021-02-01T21:51:34.443726Z
2021-02-01T21:51:34.443726Z

Query based on last minute

SELECT * FROM readings
WHERE date_time > now() - 60000000L;

to_timestamp#

to_timestamp(string, format) - converts string to timestamp by using the supplied format to extract the value.

Will convert a string to timestamp using the format definition passed as an argument. When the format definition does not match the string input, the result will be null.

For more information about recognized timestamp formats, see the date and timestamp format section.

Arguments:

string is any string that represents a date and/or time.
format is a string that describes the timestamp format in which string is expressed.

Return value:

Return value type is timestamp

Examples:

string matches format

SELECT to_timestamp('2020-03-01:15:43:21', 'yyyy-MM-dd:HH:mm:ss')
FROM long_sequence(1);

to_timestamp
2020-03-01T15:43:21.000000Z

string does not match format

SELECT to_timestamp('2020-03-01:15:43:21', 'yyyy')
FROM long_sequence(1);

to_timestamp
null

Using with INSERT

INSERT INTO measurements
values(to_timestamp('2019-12-12T12:15', 'yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm'), 123.5);

timestamp	value
2019-12-12T12:15:00.000000Z	123.5

Note that conversion of ISO timestamp format is optional. QuestDB automatically converts STRING to TIMESTAMP if it is partial or full form of yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.SSSUUU or yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSSUUU with valid time offset +01:00 or Z. See more examples at Native timestamp format

to_date#

to_date(string, format) - converts string to date by using the supplied format to extract the value.

Will convert a string to date using the format definition passed as an argument. When the format definition does not match the string input, the result will be null.

For more information about recognized timestamp formats, see the date and timestamp format section.

Arguments:

string is any string that represents a date and/or time.
format is a string that describes the date format in which string is expressed.

Return value:

Return value type is date

Examples:

string matches format

SELECT to_date('2020-03-01:15:43:21', 'yyyy-MM-dd:HH:mm:ss')
FROM long_sequence(1);

to_date
2020-03-01T15:43:21.000Z

string does not match format

SELECT to_date('2020-03-01:15:43:21', 'yyyy')
FROM long_sequence(1);

to_date
null

Using with INSERT

INSERT INTO measurements
values(to_date('2019-12-12T12:15', 'yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm'), 123.5);

date	value
2019-12-12T12:15:00.000Z	123.5

to_str#

to_str(value, format) - converts date or timestamp value to a string in the specified format

Will convert a date or timestamp value to a string using the format definition passed as an argument. When elements in the format definition are unrecognized, they will be passed-through as string.

For more information about recognized timestamp formats, see the date and timestamp format section.

Arguments:

value is any date or timestamp
format is a timestamp format.

Return value:

Return value type is string

Examples:

Basic example

SELECT to_str(systimestamp(), 'yyyy-MM-dd') FROM long_sequence(1);

to_str
2020-03-04

With unrecognized timestamp definition

SELECT to_str(systimestamp(), 'yyyy-MM-dd gooD DAY 123') FROM long_sequence(1);

to_str
2020-03-04 gooD DAY 123

dateadd#

dateadd(period, n, startDate) - adds n period to startDate.

Arguments:

period is a char. Period to be added. Available periods are s, m, h, d, M, y.
n is an int. Number of periods to add.
startDate is a timestamp or date. Timestamp to add the periods to.

Return value:

Return value type is timestamp

Examples:

Adding hours

SELECT systimestamp(), dateadd('h', 2, systimestamp())
FROM long_sequence(1);

systimestamp	dateadd
2020-04-17T00:30:51.380499Z	2020-04-17T02:30:51.380499Z

Adding days

SELECT systimestamp(), dateadd('d', 2, systimestamp())
FROM long_sequence(1);

systimestamp	dateadd
2020-04-17T00:30:51.380499Z	2020-04-19T00:30:51.380499Z

Adding months

SELECT systimestamp(), dateadd('M', 2, systimestamp())
FROM long_sequence(1);

systimestamp	dateadd
2020-04-17T00:30:51.380499Z	2020-06-17T00:30:51.380499Z

datediff#

datediff(period, date1, date2) - returns the absolute number of period between date1 and date2.

Arguments:

period is a char. Period to be added. Available periods are s, m, h, d, M, y.
date1 and date2 are date or timestamp. Dates to compare

Return value:

Return value type is int

Examples:

Difference in days

select datediff(
    'd',
    to_timestamp('2020-01-23','yyyy-MM-dd'),
    to_timestamp('2020-01-27','yyyy-MM-dd'))
from long_sequence(1);

datediff
4

Difference in months

select datediff(
    'M',
    to_timestamp('2020-01-23','yyyy-MM-dd'),
    to_timestamp('2020-02-24','yyyy-MM-dd'))
from long_sequence(1);

datediff
1

millis#

millis(value) - returns the millis of the second for a given date or timestamp from 0 to 999

Arguments:

value is any timestamp or date

Return value:

Return value type is int

Examples:

Millis of the second

SELECT millis(
    to_timestamp('2020-03-01:15:43:21.123456', 'yyyy-MM-dd:HH:mm:ss.SSSUUU'))
FROM long_sequence(1);

millis
123

Using in an aggregation

select millis(ts), count() from transactions;

second	count
0	2323
1	6548
...	...
998	9876
999	2567

micros#

micros(value) - returns the micros of the millisecond for a given date or timestamp from 0 to 999

Arguments:

value is any timestamp or date

Return value:

Return value type is int

Examples:

Micros of the second

SELECT micros(to_timestamp('2020-03-01:15:43:21.123456', 'yyyy-MM-dd:HH:mm:ss.SSSUUU'))
FROM long_sequence(1);

millis
456

Using in an aggregation

select micros(ts), count() from transactions;

second	count
0	2323
1	6548
...	...
998	9876
999	2567

second#

second(value) - returns the second of the minute for a given date or timestamp from 0 to 59

Arguments:

value is any timestamp or date

Return value:

Return value type is int

Examples:

Second of the minute

SELECT second(to_timestamp('2020-03-01:15:43:21', 'yyyy-MM-dd:HH:mm:ss'))
FROM long_sequence(1);

second
43

Using in an aggregation

select second(ts), count() from transactions;

second	count
0	2323
1	6548
...	...
58	9876
59	2567

minute#

minute(value) - returns the minute of the hour for a given date or timestamp from 0 to 59

Arguments:

value is any timestamp or date

Return value:

Return value type is int

Examples:

Minute of the hour

SELECT minute(to_timestamp('2020-03-01:15:43:21', 'yyyy-MM-dd:HH:mm:ss'))
FROM long_sequence(1);

minute
43

Using in an aggregation

select minute(ts), count() from transactions;

minute	count
0	2323
1	6548
...	...
58	9876
59	2567

hour#

hour(value) - returns the hour of day for a given date or timestamp from 0 to 23

Arguments:

value is any timestamp or date

Return value:

Return value type is int

Examples:

Hour of the day

SELECT hour(to_timestamp('2020-03-01:15:43:21', 'yyyy-MM-dd:HH:mm:ss'))
FROM long_sequence(1);

hour
12

Using in an aggregation

select hour(ts), count() from transactions;

hour	count
0	2323
1	6548
...	...
22	9876
23	2567

day#

day(value) - returns the day of month for a given date or timestamp from 0 to 23

Arguments:

value is any timestamp or date

Return value:

Return value type is int

Examples:

Day of the month

SELECT day(to_timestamp('2020-03-01:15:43:21', 'yyyy-MM-dd:HH:mm:ss'))
FROM long_sequence(1);

day
01

Using in an aggregation

select day(ts), count() from transactions;

day	count
1	2323
2	6548
...	...
30	9876
31	2567

month#

month(value) - returns the month of year for a given date or timestamp from 1 to 12

Arguments:

value is any timestamp or date

Return value:

Return value type is int

Examples:

Month of the year

SELECT month(to_timestamp('2020-03-01:15:43:21', 'yyyy-MM-dd:HH:mm:ss'))
FROM long_sequence(1);

month
03

Using in an aggregation

select month(ts), count() from transactions;

month	count
1	2323
2	6548
...	...
11	9876
12	2567

year#

year(value) - returns the year for a given date or timestamp

Arguments:

value is any timestamp or date

Return value:

Return value type is int

Examples:

Year

SELECT year(to_timestamp('2020-03-01:15:43:21', 'yyyy-MM-dd:HH:mm:ss'))
FROM long_sequence(1);

year
2020

Using in an aggregation

select month(ts), count() from transactions;

year	count
2015	2323
2016	9876
2017	2567

is_leap_year#

is_leap_year(value) - returns true if the year of value is a leap year, false otherwise.

Arguments:

value is any timestamp or date

Return value:

Return value type is boolean

Examples:

select year(ts), is_leap_year(ts) from myTable;

year	is_leap_year
2020	true
2021	false
2022	false
2023	false
2024	true
2025	false

days_in_month#

days_in_month(value) - returns the number of days in a month from a provided timestamp or date.

Arguments:

value is any timestamp or date

Return value:

Return value type is int

Examples:

select month(ts), days_in_month(ts) from myTable;

month	days_in_month
4	30
5	31
6	30
7	31
8	31

day_of_week#

day_of_week(value) - returns the day number in a week from 1 (Monday) to 7 (Sunday)

Arguments:

value is any timestamp or date

Return value:

Return value type is int

Examples:

select to_str(ts,'EE'),day_of_week(ts) from myTable;

day	day_of_week
Monday	1
Tuesday	2
Wednesday	3
Thursday	4
Friday	5
Saturday	6
Sunday	7

day_of_week_sunday_first#

day_of_week_sunday_first(value) - returns the day number in a week from 1 (Sunday) to 7 (Saturday)

Arguments:

value is any timestamp or date

Return value:

Return value type is int

Examples:

select to_str(ts,'EE'),day_of_week_sunday_first(ts) from myTable;

day	day_of_week_sunday_first
Monday	2
Tuesday	3
Wednesday	4
Thursday	5
Friday	6
Saturday	7
Sunday	1

Date and Timestamp format#

Format is a combination of letters from table below combined with arbitrary text. Format letters are case-sensitive and are used as is (e.g. without any prefix)

Letter	Date or Time Component	Presentation	Examples
`G`	Era designator	Text	AD
`y`	Year	Year	1996; 96
`Y`	Week year	Year	2009; 09
`M`	Month in year	Month	July; Jul; 07
`w`	Week in year	Number	27
`W`	Week in month	Number	2
`D`	Day in year	Number	189
`d`	Day in month	Number	10
`F`	Day of week in month	Number	2
`E`	Day name in week	Text	Tuesday; Tue
`u`	Day number of week (1 = Monday, ..., 7 = Sunday)	Number	1
`a`	Am/pm marker	Text	PM
`H`	Hour in day (0-23)	Number	0
`k`	Hour in day (1-24)	Number	24
`K`	Hour in am/pm (0-11)	Number	0
`h`	Hour in am/pm (1-12)	Number	12
`m`	Minute in hour	Number	30
`s`	Second in minute	Number	55
`S`	Millisecond	Number	978
`z`	Time zone	General time zone	Pacific Standard Time; PST; GMT-08:00
`Z`	Time zone	RFC 822 time zone	-0800
`X`	Time zone	ISO 8601 time zone	-08; -0800; -08:00
`U`	Microsecond	Number	698

info

systimestamp#

sysdate#

now#

to_timestamp#

to_date#

to_str#

dateadd#

datediff#

millis#

micros#

second#

minute#

hour#

day#

month#

year#

is_leap_year#

days_in_month#

day_of_week#

day_of_week_sunday_first#

Date and Timestamp format#

See also#