Time and Date

Data Type

Size

Size (Not Null)

Resolution

Min Value

Max Value

Zero Value

Precision

DATE

8 bytes

4 bytes

day

1000-01-01

9999-12-31

0000-00-00

yyyy-mm-dd

TIME

8 bytes

4 bytes

second

-838:59:59

838:59:59

00:00:00

hhh:mm:ss

TIME(6)

8 bytes

4 bytes

microsecond

-838:59:59.000000

839:59:59.999999

00:00:00.000000

hhh:mm:ss.mmmmmm

DATETIME

12 bytes

8 bytes

second

1000-01-01 00:00:00

9999-12-31 23:59:59

0000-00-00 00:00:00

yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss

DATETIME(6)

12 bytes

8 bytes

microsecond

1000-01-01 00:00:00.000000

9999-12-31 23:59:59.999999

0000-00-00 00:00:00.000000

yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss.mmmmmm

TIMESTAMP

4 bytes

4 bytes

second

1970-01-01 00:00:01

2038-01-19 03:14:07

0000-00-00 00:00:00

yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss

TIMESTAMP(6)

8 bytes

8 bytes

microsecond

1970-01-01 00:00:01.000000

2038-01-19 03:14:07.999999

0000-00-00 00:00:00.000000

yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss.mmmmmm

YEAR

2 bytes

1 byte

year

1901

2155

0000

yyyy

Any data being ingested that does not match the precision of the destination data type will be converted. For example, a value like 2020-12-31 23:59:59 being inserted into a column with the data type of DATE would be converted to 2020-12-31.

Note: SingleStore recommends to use DATETIME or DATETIME(6) column types instead of TIMESTAMP or TIMESTAMP(6) because TIMESTAMP types only support dates through 2038-01-19 as opposed to 9999-12-31 for DATETIME types. This can avoid the need to do potentially time-consuming application and database maintenance and conversion in the future.

Storing Times and Dates

You can use a string literal to store a time value or a date value. When you do this, the literal is implicitly converted to the time or date. For example, if the table t contains a column dt of type DATETIME, you can use the following statement to store the literal.

INSERT INTO t(dt) VALUES ('2020-11-21');

Alternatively, you can use the TO_Date and Time Functions, such as TO_DATE and TO_TIMESTAMPto explicitly convert a string literal to a time value or a date value.

Inserting or Updating a Column With the Current Timestamp

To allow inserts or updates of a TIMESTAMP, TIMESTAMP(6), DATETIME , or a DATETIME(6) column with the current timestamp, define the column with the clause:

  • DEFAULT <timefunction>, to insert a column with the current timestamp.

  • ON UPDATE <timefunction>, to update a column with the current timestamp.

  • DEFAULT <timefunction> ON UPDATE <timefunction>, to insert and update a column with the current timestamp.

where <timefunction> is one of the following values: NOW(), NOW(6), CURRENT_TIMESTAMP(), CURRENT_TIMESTAMP(6).

Examples

The following example demonstrates the use of DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP() in column definition:

CREATE TABLE s(id INT, ts TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP());
INSERT INTO s(id) VALUES(1);
SELECT * FROM s;
+------+---------------------+
| id   | ts                  |
+------+---------------------+
|    1 | 2020-05-21 09:12:25 | 
+------+---------------------+

The following example demonstrates the use of ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP(6) in column definition:

CREATE TABLE s1(id INT, ts DATETIME(6) ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP(6));
INSERT INTO s1(id,ts) VALUES(1,"2017-07-01");
SELECT * FROM s1;
+------+----------------------------+
| id   | ts                         |
+------+----------------------------+
|    1 | 2017-07-01 00:00:00.000000 |
+------+----------------------------+
UPDATE s1 SET id = 2 WHERE id = 1;
SELECT * FROM s1;
+------+----------------------------+
| id   | ts                         |
+------+----------------------------+
|    2 | 2020-05-21 09:36:47.124979 |
+------+----------------------------+

The following example demonstrates the use of DEFAULT NOW(6) ON UPDATE NOW(6) in column definition:

CREATE TABLE s2(id INT, ts DATETIME(6) DEFAULT NOW(6) ON UPDATE NOW(6));
INSERT INTO s2(id) VALUES(1);
INSERT INTO s2(id) VALUES(2);
SELECT * FROM s2;
+------+----------------------------+
| id   | ts                         |
+------+----------------------------+
|    2 | 2020-05-21 11:21:30.998275 |
|    1 | 2020-05-21 11:21:30.992868 |
+------+----------------------------+
UPDATE s2 SET id = 2 WHERE id = 1;
SELECT * FROM s2;
+------+----------------------------+
| id   | ts                         |
+------+----------------------------+
|    2 | 2020-05-21 11:21:30.998275 |
|    2 | 2020-05-21 11:23:39.134793 |
+------+----------------------------+

Warning

Prior to SingleStore 7, when you inserted or updated a record, the first TIMESTAMP or TIMESTAMP(6) column would automatically be populated with the current timestamp. Such columns did not use DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP() or ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP() clause in their column definitions. In SingleStore 7 and later, this behavior has been deprecated; TIMESTAMP or TIMESTAMP(6) columns without these clauses will be populated with a NULL value instead of the current timestamp. For instance, NULL values are populated in the ts column in the following example, when run on SingleStore 7 or later.

CREATE TABLE r(d DATETIME(6), ts TIMESTAMP(6), id INT);
INSERT r(d, id) VALUES("2017-07-01", 1);
SELECT * FROM r;
+----------------------------+----------------------------+------+
| d                          | ts                         | id   |
+----------------------------+----------------------------+------+
| 2017-07-01 00:00:00.000000 | NULL                       |    1 |
+----------------------------+----------------------------+------+
UPDATE r SET id = 2 WHERE id = 1;
SELECT * FROM r;
+----------------------------+----------------------------+------+
| d                          | ts                         | id   |
+----------------------------+----------------------------+------+
| 2017-07-01 00:00:00.000000 | NULL                       |    2 |
+----------------------------+----------------------------+------+

The explicit_defaults_for_timestamp Variable

The variable explicit_defaults_for_timestamp determines if certain nonstandard behaviors for default values and NULL-value are disabled for the TIMESTAMP column. By default, the variable is enabled, which disables the nonstandard behaviors.

If the explicit_defaults_for_timestamp variable is enabled, SingleStore Helios handles the TIMESTAMP column behavior as follows:

  • Assigning a TIMESTAMP column value of NULL does not set it to the current timestamp. To set to the current timestamp, set the TIMESTAMP column to CURRENT_TIMESTAMP() or NOW().

  • If the TIMESTAMP column is not declared as NOT NULL, then it is automatically declared with the NULL attribute and permits NULL values. Assigning a value of NULL to the column sets it to NULL, not the current timestamp.

  • TIMESTAMP column declared with the NOT NULL attribute do not permit NULL values.

  • TIMESTAMP columns explicitly declared with the NOT NULL attribute and without an explicit DEFAULT attribute are treated as having no default value.

  • To declare TIMESTAMP column with the DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP() or ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP() attributes, these must be explicitly specified.

  • The first TIMESTAMP column in a table is handled in the same way as the TIMESTAMP columns following the first one.

If the explicit_defaults_for_timestamp variable is disabled, SingleStore Helios handles the TIMESTAMP column behavior as follows:

  • If the TIMESTAMP column is not declared as NULL, then it is automatically declared with the NOT NULL attribute. Assigning a value of NULL to the column is permitted and sets the column to the current timestamp.

  • The first TIMESTAMP column in a table, if not declared as NULL, DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP() or ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP(), is automatically declared with the DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP() and ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP() attributes.

  • TIMESTAMP columns following the first one, if not declared with the NULL attribute or a DEFAULT attribute, are automatically declared as DEFAULT0000-00-00 00:00:00 (the zero timestamp).

Handling of Time Zones

SingleStore Helios currently ignores any time zone offsets on query writes and reads for DATETIME and TIMESTAMP data types. The time zone defaults to UTC.

See the following examples for DATETIME and TIMESTAMP respectively:

CREATE TABLE dt (id INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY, 
col DATETIME NOT NULL
);
INSERT INTO dt (col) VALUES ('2022-01-01 10:10:10'),
('2022-01-01 10:10:10+05:30'),
('2022-01-01 10:10:10-08:00');
SELECT * FROM dt;
+----+---------------------+
| id | col                 |
+----+---------------------+
|  1 | 2022-01-01 10:10:10 |
|  2 | 2022-01-01 10:10:10 |
|  3 | 2022-01-01 10:10:10 |
+----+---------------------+
CREATE TABLE ts (id INTEGER NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,       
col TIMESTAMP NOT NULL
);
INSERT INTO ts (col) VALUES ('2022-01-01 10:10:10'),       
('2022-01-01 10:10:10+05:30'),
('2022-01-01 10:10:10-08:00');
SELECT * FROM ts;
+----+---------------------+
| id | col                 |
+----+---------------------+
|  1 | 2022-01-01 10:10:10 |
|  2 | 2022-01-01 10:10:10 |
|  3 | 2022-01-01 10:10:10 |
+----+---------------------+

Note

Time zone offsets are also ignored when data is ingested via LOAD DATA and or pipelines.

If the data_conversion_compatibility_level is 7.5 (or lower) and if any extra characters are included in the query (including a timezone), an error will be generated.

SELECT @@data_conversion_compatibility_level;
+---------------------------------------+
| @@data_conversion_compatibility_level |
+---------------------------------------+
| 7.5                                   |
+---------------------------------------+
CREATE TABLE dt1 (id INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY, col DATETIME NOT NULL);
INSERT INTO dt1 (col) VALUES ('2022-01-01 10:10:10'),    
('2022-01-01 10:10:10+05:30'),
('2022-01-01 10:10:10-08:00');
ERROR 2363 (HY000): Leaf Error (127.0.0.1:3307): Invalid DATE/TIME in type conversion

Last modified: March 8, 2024

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