SQLite Date & Time

SQLite database provides a Date and Time functions which allows you to store, manipulate, and retrieve date and time values in various formats. These functions can be used to perform calculations on dates and times, and can be particularly useful for applications that require date and time manipulation.

Syntax

The basic syntax for the date() function in SQLite is as follows:

date(timestring, modifier, modifier, ...)

The timestring argument specifies the date or time value to be converted. The modifiers are optional and can be used to format the output of the date function, or to perform date calculations.

Example

Suppose we have a table named tasks, which has a column named due_date storing the date for a task deadline and we want to find tasks that are overdue. We can use the date() function to calculate the difference between today's date and the due date.

SELECT * FROM tasks WHERE date(due_date) < date('now');

Output

The output of the SELECT statement would be all the rows from the tasks table, where the due_date is prior to the current date.

Explanation

In the example above, we use the date() function to extract the date part of the due_date column of the tasks table and compare it with the current date using the date('now') function. This returns a value in the format YYYY-MM-DD, which can be compared with the date value of the due_date column.

Use

The date and time functions in SQLite can be used to manipulate date and time values in various formats. They allow you to filter rows based on date and time values, perform various date calculations such as date arithmetic operations, and extract or format date and time values.

Important Points

• SQLite date and time functions operate on strings in one format and return strings in another.
• The format of the input string must match the expected format defined by the function.
• The date() function can be passed a variety of modifiers to format the output string.
• SQLite does not have built-in support for time zones.
• You can use the strftime() function to format date and time values appropriately for your location.

Summary

In this tutorial, we learned about the SQLite Date & Time functions and how to manipulate date and time values in various formats. we saw an example of using the date() function to compare due dates with the current date. We also learned some important points to keep in mind when using date and time functions in SQLite. These functions can be useful for performing date and time calculations, filtering rows based on specific dates, and formatting date and time values for display.