What is the difference between DATETIME and TIMESTAMP in SQL?

What is the difference between DATETIME and TIMESTAMP in SQL?

The main difference is that DATETIME is a data type that stores date and time values, while TIMESTAMP is a data type that stores a timestamp, which is a combination of date and time, but it also includes time zone information.

Can you explain how they handle time zones?

Sure! TIMESTAMP is time zone-aware, meaning it converts the stored value to UTC and back to the local time zone when queried. DATETIME, on the other hand, does not account for time zones; it simply stores the date and time as is.

Which one should I use for my application?

If your application needs to handle multiple time zones, use TIMESTAMP. If you only need to store date and time without time zone considerations, DATETIME is sufficient.

Are there any performance differences between the two?

Generally, the performance difference is negligible for most applications. However, TIMESTAMP may have slight overhead due to time zone conversions.