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New Date Datatypes in SQL
Server 2008
By Tim Chapman
September 8, 2008, 10:59 AM PDT

Takeaway: SQL Server 2008 provides new data-types for storing wider ranges of dates with
more precision. Heres can you can use these new data types to your advantage in SQL Server
2008.

As a database architect, one of the features I am most excited about in SQL Server 2008 is the
new date related data types. These data types allow for the storage of time-only data, date-only
data, a larger range of date values, more time precision, and the ability to store time-zone specific
dates. Today I’ll take a look at these great new data types and how they can be used to expand
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The new DATE data-type defines a date field without any associated time. In previous versions of Improve Productivity
SQL Server, storing time-only data was accomplished in one of two ways. First, you could define Apps For Business- 30 Day Free Trial. No
either a DATETIME or SMALLDATETIME data type and assign the value as a VARCHAR value. Credit Card Required!
Then you would need to handle the time related data in your queries. The other way is to store the www.google.com/apps
date value in a VARCHAR field in the database. Either way, handling date-only data was at best OTM (G-Log) Solutions
cumbersome. With the new DATE data-type, it intrinsically stores only date values. In the following At MavenWire, We Offer Solutions to Meet
example I define a DATE data-type and a DATETIME data type and assign today’s date to the Your Business Needs. Visit Us!
variables. As you can see from SELECTing the values from the variables, the DATE variable holds www.MavenWire.com
only the date portion whereas the DATETIME field also stores the associated time from the
GETDATE() function.

DECLARE @TodaysDate DATE = GETDATE()

DECLARE @TodaysDateTime DATETIME = GETDATE()
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SELECT @TodaysDate, @TodaysDateTime

Storing DATE specific data will also make queries easier to write. Instead of using one of the
following statements to pull data for a DATETIME column;

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SELECT * FROM SalesHistory

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WHERE SaleDate = ‘4/11/2008' AND SaleDate ‘4/12/2008'

you can use an equality operator (=) to search only for the specific date, assuming the Subscribe Today
SaleDateOnly field is defined as a DATE data-type.

SELECT * FROM SalesHistory Follow us however you choose!
WHERE SaleDateOnly = ‘4/11/2008'

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/datacenter/new-date-datatypes-in-sql-server-2008/443[08/29/2012 3:44:51 PM]


DATETIME2
This data type is very simiilar to the datetime data type present in previous versions of SQL
Server. The difference is the time precision and the range of dates that DATETIME2 can store.
The new DATETIME2 data type can hold a range of dates from 0001-01-01 through 9999-12-31
while DATETIME holds the date range from 1753-01-01 to 9999-12-31. Another benefit of this Media Gallery
data type is the precision in which it records time. DATETIME2 is accurate to within 100
nanoseconds whereas DATETIME is accurate to within 3/1000 of a second. The following script
compares the values that the DATETIME and the DATETIME2 data-types can hold.

DECLARE @DateTime2 DATETIME2 = GETDATE()

DECLARE @DateTime DATETIME = GETDATE() PHOTO GALLERY (1 of 15)

SELECT @DateTime, @DateTime2
Curiosity's autonomous
'seven minutes of...
Notice the additional precision stored in the DATETIME2 variable. This additional data can be of
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major significance for those applications where time related information is mission-critical.

TIME
The TIME data-type stores only the time portion of a date. This is significant in that the time data
can be stored seperately and not associated with a specific date. The TIME data-type, like the
DATETIME2 data-type is accurate up to 100 nanoseconds. The following script compares the time
specific information returned by the TIME data type and that which is returned from a DATETIME VIDEO (1 of 13)
data type. Cracking Open: HTC Titan II

DECLARE @Time TIME = GETDATE() More Videos »
DECLARE @DateTime DATETIME = GETDATE()

SELECT @Time, @DateTime
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DATETIMEOFFSET
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The new DATETIMEOFFSET data type combines the range and precision of the DATETIME2
data-type along with time-zone awareness based on a 24 hour clock. The time-zone awareness is
accomplished by adding or subtracting an hours + minutes value to the date data. In the following
example, I define a temporary table that holds two fields. The first field holds the date that is local 2 can anyone suggest if any such
to my area. The second field, BeijingTime, is an offset date that will hold the time in Beijing, China; software exist with similar
which happens to be 12 hours ahead of the time in Louisville, KY. functionality?

CREATE TABLE #OffSets
3 Switching from a Job to a career in
( the IT field: Need an IT pro's
LouisvilleTime DATETIME2 DEFAULT(GETDATE()),
advice

BeijingTime AS CONVERT(VARCHAR(50), LouisvilleTime, 121) + '+12:00'
2 windows 7 won't shutdown and
) keeps switching on
INSERT INTO #OffSets(LouisvilleTime)

SELECT GETDATE() Ask a Question
SELECT * FROM #OffSets

As you can see from the results from the table, the BeijingTime field holds the date from the
LouisvilleTime field along with a 12 hour offset to indicate Beijing time. This data-type greatly Hot Discussions View All
enhances the ability to create time-zone aware applications.
221 Should developers be sued for
TIME to try the new data-types security holes?

The new date related data-types included in SQL Server 2008 greatly expand the database
developers ability to not only store a wider range of dates and precision for those dates, but also 79 The sitting duck that is open
the ability to zone time-zone specific data which can lead to more robust and accurate reporting of source
time-related data around the world.
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5 Join the conversation! Add Your Opinion
Comments Follow via:

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Calendar issues 0
rwilson@... 24th Feb 2009 Votes

Odd that it can go so far forward but not back far enough for some historical,
geological, or anthropoligical data Actually, I was kind of wondering about the ability
to go past 1753 with any... Read Whole Comment +

View in thread

Examples 0
chapman.tim@... 10th Sep 2008 Votes

Sure, here are some examples:

DATE:
2007-05-08

TIME:
12:35:29. 1234567

DATETIME2:
2007-05-08 12:35:29. 1234567

DATETIMEOFFSET:
2007-05-08 12:35:29.1234567 +12:15

View in thread



RE: New Date Datatypes in SQL Server 2008 0
dwarsham@... 10th Sep 2008 Votes

Its about time we get a DATE type! I always tested date ranges like this: SELECT *
FROM SalesHistory WHERE SaleDate Between @SaleDate AND @SaleDate + '
11:59 pm' Of course @SaleDate was formatted... Read Whole Comment +

View in thread

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