When should you use date functions?

In MySQL, date functions are essential for manipulating and querying date and time values. You should use date functions when you need to:

  • Filter records based on date criteria
  • Perform calculations on dates
  • Format dates for reporting or display purposes
  • Extract specific components from a date or time, such as the year or month
  • Compare dates across records

Here is an example of using date functions in MySQL:

SELECT DATE(NOW()) AS CurrentDate, DATE_ADD(NOW(), INTERVAL 7 DAY) AS NextWeek, DATEDIFF(NOW(), '2023-01-01') AS DaysSinceNewYear FROM your_table_name;

MySQL date functions date manipulation date querying date comparison