Q&A

What is Unix timestamp?

What is Unix timestamp?

Unix time is a way of representing a timestamp by representing the time as the number of seconds since January 1st, 1970 at 00:00:00 UTC. One of the primary benefits of using Unix time is that it can be represented as an integer making it easier to parse and use across different systems.

Is Unix timestamp a UTC?

Unix timestamps are always based on UTC (otherwise known as GMT). It is illogical to think of a Unix timestamp as being in any particular time zone. Unix timestamps do not account for leap seconds. Traditionally, Unix timestamps were defined in terms of whole seconds.

How does Unix timestamp work?

Simply put, the Unix timestamp is a way to track time as a running total of seconds. This count starts at the Unix Epoch on January 1st, 1970 at UTC. Therefore, the Unix timestamp is merely the number of seconds between a particular date and the Unix Epoch.

How long is Unix timestamp?

As I write this, a current UNIX timestamp would be something close to 1292051460 , which is a 10-digit number. Assuming a maximum length of 10 characters gives you a range of timestamps from -99999999 to 9999999999 .

Should I use Unix timestamp?

When should I use a timestamp A Unix timestamp is interpreted the same regardless of region and is calculated from the same point in time regardless of the time zone. If you have a web application that is used over multiple timezones and you need date/time to reflect individual users’ settings, use a timestamp.

What timezone is Unix timestamp?

5 Answers. The definition of UNIX timestamp is time zone independent. The UNIX timestamp is the number of seconds (or milliseconds) elapsed since an absolute point in time, midnight of Jan 1 1970 in UTC time. (UTC is Greenwich Mean Time without Daylight Savings time adjustments.)

Should I use UNIX timestamp?