This guide is specifically for MySQL syntax.
SQL Date Functions Quick Guide
Reference for date manipulation, formatting, and calculations.
Current Date/Time
Syntax:
CURRENT_DATE | NOW() | NOW() | GETDATE()
Returns current date or datetime.
Example:
SELECT CURRENT_DATE, NOW();
💡 Note: GETDATE() is SQL Server, NOW() is MySQL
Date Parts
Syntax:
EXTRACT(part FROM date) | YEAR(date) | MONTH(date) | DAY(date)
Extracts specific parts from a date.
Example:
SELECT EXTRACT(YEAR FROM order_date) as year, MONTH(order_date) as month FROM orders;
💡 Note: Parts: YEAR, MONTH, DAY, HOUR, MINUTE, SECOND
Date Arithmetic
Syntax:
date + INTERVAL 'n unit' | DATEADD(unit, n, date)
Add or subtract intervals from dates.
Example:
SELECT order_date + INTERVAL '7 days' as due_date FROM orders;
💡 Note: DATEADD is SQL Server syntax
Date Difference
Syntax:
DATEDIFF(date1, date2) | date1 - date2
Calculates difference between dates.
Example:
SELECT DATEDIFF(end_date, start_date) as duration FROM projects;
💡 Note: SQL Server: DATEDIFF(unit, start, end)
DATE_TRUNC
Syntax:
DATE_TRUNC('unit', date)
Truncates date to specified precision.
Example:
SELECT DATE_TRUNC('month', order_date) as month FROM orders;
💡 Note: PostgreSQL. Use TRUNC or FORMAT in other DBs
Date Formatting
Syntax:
DATE_FORMAT(date, format) | TO_CHAR(date, format)
Formats date as string.
Example:
SELECT DATE_FORMAT(order_date, '%Y-%m-%d') as formatted FROM orders;
💡 Note: Format codes vary by database
Quick Reference Table
| Function | Purpose | |----------|---------| | Current Date/Time | Returns current date or datetime | | Date Parts | Extracts specific parts from a date | | Date Arithmetic | Add or subtract intervals from dates | | Date Difference | Calculates difference between dates | | DATE_TRUNC | Truncates date to specified precision | | Date Formatting | Formats date as string |
Related Cheat Sheets
Continue learning with more SQL references:
MySQL-Specific Notes
This page covers MySQL syntax. Other databases may have different syntax for similar operations.