GETDATE (Transact-SQL)
Returns the current system date and time in the SQL Server 2005 standard internal format for datetime values.
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Transact-SQL Syntax Conventions
Syntax
GETDATE ( )
Return Types
datetime
Remarks
GETDATE is a nondeterministic function. Views and expressions that reference this column cannot be indexed.
Date functions can be used in the SELECT statement select list or in the WHERE clause of a query.
In designing a report, GETDATE can be used to print the current date and time every time that the report is produced. GETDATE is also useful for tracking activity, such as logging the time a transaction occurred on an account.
Examples
A. Using GET DATE to return the current date and time
The following example finds the current system date and time.
SELECT GETDATE();
GO
Here is the result set.
-------------------------
July 29 1998 2:50 PM
(1 row(s) affected)
B. Using GETDATE with CREATE TABLE
The following example creates the employees table and uses GETDATE for a default value for the emp_hire_date.
USE AdventureWorks;
GO
CREATE TABLE employees
(
emp_id char(11) NOT NULL,
emp_lname varchar(40) NOT NULL,
emp_fname varchar(20) NOT NULL,
emp_hire_date datetime DEFAULT GETDATE(),
emp_mgr varchar(30)
);
GO
See Also
Reference
Date and Time Functions (Transact-SQL)
CURRENT_TIMESTAMP (Transact-SQL)
GETUTCDATE (Transact-SQL)