Overview
The SYSDATETIME() function returns the server date time stamp using the datetime2 format. This function has a better precision than the GETDATE() or GETUTCDATE(). The data type returned by this function is datetime2(7).
Explanation
Syntax
SYSDATETIME()Parameters
- No parameters required
Simple SYSDATETIME Example
The following example will show the output for SYSDATETIME.
SELECT SYSDATETIME() as dateAs you can see, there are 7 positions for nanoseconds (8324291).
Difference between GETDATE and SYSDATETIME
The following example shows the difference in nanoseconds between the GETDATE function and SYSDATETIME.
SELECT DATEDIFF(NANOSECOND, GETDATE(), SYSDATETIME()) as difference
As you can see, the SYSDATETIME function is more precise.
SELECT DATEDIFF(NANOSECOND,GETDATE(),SYSDATETIME()) as differenceGETDATE has 3 positions for nanoseconds and SYSDATETIME has 7 positions.
How to set the SYSDATETIME in a custom format
The following example shows the SYSDATETIME in the dd-MM-yyyy hh:mm:ss tt format.
SELECT FORMAT(SYSDATETIME(),'dd-MM-yy hh:mm:ss tt') as formatdate
How to set the SYSDATETIME in a different cultural format
The following example will set the SYSDATETIME in Arabic date format.
SELECT FORMAT(SYSDATETIME(), 'dddd dd, MMMM, yyyy','AR-ar') as arabic
Use SYSDATETIME with Data from a Table
The following example will show the products with a StartDate between 8 and 9 years ago.
SELECT Productid, DATEDIFF(YEAR, StartDate, SYSDATETIME()) as years
FROM Production.ProductCostHistory
WHERE DATEDIFF(YEAR, StartDate, SYSDATETIME()) BETWEEN 8 AND 9
Additional Information
