SQL SERVER – 2008 – Get Current System Date Time

How to get current system date time in SQL Server?

First thing which comes to many users is using following script.

SELECT GETDATE() AS CurrentDateTime

Above method is not the only method to retrieve the current system date time for SQL Server. SQL Server 2008 has many different function which provides current system date time in different format and little difference in details.

SELECT 'SYSDATETIME' AS FunctionName, SYSDATETIME() AS DateTimeFormat
UNION ALL
SELECT 'SYSDATETIMEOFFSET', SYSDATETIMEOFFSET()
UNION ALL
SELECT 'SYSUTCDATETIME', SYSUTCDATETIME()
UNION ALL
SELECT 'CURRENT_TIMESTAMP', CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
UNION ALL
SELECT 'GETDATE', GETDATE()
UNION ALL
SELECT 'GETUTCDATE', GETUTCDATE()

In SQL Server 2008, use any of the above function depending on your need.

Here is what each one gives you, so you can pick the right one:

• GETDATE() and CURRENT_TIMESTAMP return the same local server time as DATETIME, rounded to about 3 milliseconds. CURRENT_TIMESTAMP is simply the ANSI standard name.
• GETUTCDATE() returns the same DATETIME value, but in UTC.
• SYSDATETIME() returns local time as DATETIME2(7), with precision down to 100 nanoseconds.
• SYSUTCDATETIME() is the DATETIME2(7) version in UTC.
• SYSDATETIMEOFFSET() returns DATETIMEOFFSET(7), which also carries the server’s time zone offset.

My rule of thumb: GETDATE() is fine for most everyday work. Use SYSDATETIME() when you need finer precision, and the UTC versions when your servers or users sit in different time zones.

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Published by Pinal Dave on SQLAuthority. More of my work at pinaldave.com.