GETDATE

Returns the current system date and time in the Microsoft® SQL Server™ standard internal format for datetime values.

Syntax

GETDATE ( )

Return Types

datetime

Remarks

Date functions can be used in the SELECT statement select list or in the WHERE clause of a query.

In designing a report, GETDATE can be used to print the current date and time every time the report is produced. GETDATE is also useful for tracking activity, such as logging the time a transaction occurred on an account.

Examples

A. Use GET DATE to return the current date and time

This example finds the current system date and time.

SELECT GETDATE()
GO

Here is the result set:

-------------------------
July 29 1998   2:50    PM

(1 row(s) affected)

B. Use GETDATE with CREATE TABLE

This example creates the employees table and uses GETDATE for a default value for the employee hire date.

USE pubs
GO
CREATE TABLE employees
(
 emp_id char(11) NOT NULL,
 emp_lname varchar(40) NOT NULL,
 emp_fname varchar(20) NOT NULL,
 emp_hire_date datetime DEFAULT GETDATE(),
 emp_mgr varchar(30)
)
GO

See Also

Date and Time Functions