System Date In SQL Server

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In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about working with system dates in SQL Server, from basic date retrieval to complex date manipulations for different business applications.

System Date In SQL Server

Let’s start with the fundamental functions for retrieving the system date and time in SQL Server.

Approach 1: GETDATE() function

The most commonly used function for retrieving the current system date and time is GETDATE().

SELECT GETDATE() AS SystemDateTime;

After executing the above query, I got the expected output as shown in the screenshot below.

System Date In SQL Server

Approach 2: CURRENT_TIMESTAMP

We can use this CURRENT_TIMESTAMP for this purpose.

SELECT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP AS SystemDateTimeANSI;

After executing the above query, I got the expected output as shown in the screenshot below.

how to get system date in sql server

Approach 3: Using SYSDATETIME()

We can also use the SYSDATETIME() that can help you retrieve the system date and time with higher Precision, down to the microsecond level.

SELECT SYSDATETIME() AS HighPrecisionDateTime;

After executing the above query, I got the expected output as shown in the screenshot below.

how to get system date in sql server

Approach 4: Using GETUTCDATE()

We can retrieve the system’s universal coordinated time by using the GETUTCDATE() function in conjunction with the following query.

SELECT GETUTCDATE() AS SystemUTCDateTime;

After executing the above query, I got the expected output as shown in the screenshot below.

Get system date in sql server

Approach 5: Using SYSUTCDATETIME()

We can use the SYSUTCDATETIME() to get the system’s high-precision UTC Time.

SELECT SYSUTCDATETIME() AS HighPrecisionUTCDateTime;

After executing the above query, I got the expected output as shown in the screenshot below.

how to get system date in sql

Approach 6: Using the SYSDATETIMEOFFSET()

If you need to retrieve the system datetime with the time zone offset, you can use the SYSDATETIMEOFFSET() function using the query below.

SELECT SYSDATETIMEOFFSET() AS SystemDateTimeWithOffset;

After executing the above query, I got the expected output as shown in the screenshot below.

current system date in sql

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Conclusion:

Remember that in SQL Server, by selecting the correct date functions, using appropriate precision, and adhering to best practices as mentioned in this article, you can easily retrieve the system date.

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