Introduction to the PostgreSQL TIMEOFDAY() function

TheTIMEOFDAY() function returns thecurrent date and time as a formatted string.

Here’s the syntax of theTIMEOFDAY() function:

TIMEOFDAY()

The function does not have any parameters and returns the current date and time as a string.

Note that theTIMEOFDAY() function returns the same result as theCLOCK_TIMESTAMP() function but in the text string.

PostgreSQL TIMEOFDAY() function examples

Let’s take some examples of using theTIMEOFDAY() function.

1) Basic TIMEOFDAY() function example

The following example uses theTIMEOFDAY() function to retrieve the current date and time as a string:

timeofday------------------------------------- Wed Mar 20 10:20:10.108369 2024 -07(1 row)

The output shows the date, time, and timezone.

2) Formatting the output

If you want a specific format, you can cast the result of theTIMEOFDAY() function into a timestamp and use theto_char() function to achieve the desired format:

SELECT  to_char(    timeofday()::timestamp,    'YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS'  ) current_time;

Output:

current_time--------------------- 2024-03-20 10:26:57(1 row)

Summary

• Use theTIMEOFDAY() function to obtain the current date and time as a formatted string.

Last updated onMarch 20, 2024

On this page

• Introduction to the PostgreSQL TIMEOFDAY() function
• PostgreSQL TIMEOFDAY() function examples
• Summary