NOW([fsp])

MySQL 8.4

Returns the current date and time as a value in 'YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss' or YYYYMMDDhhmmss format, depending on whether the function is used in string or numeric context. The value is expressed in the session time zone.

Syntax

MYSQL

SELECT NOW();
'2007-12-15 23:50:26'
SELECT NOW() + 0;
20071215235026.000000

Examples

Example

If the fsp argument is given to specify a fractional seconds precision from 0 to 6, the return value includes a fractional seconds part of that many digits.

MYSQL

SELECT NOW();
'2007-12-15 23:50:26'
SELECT NOW() + 0;
20071215235026.000000

Example 2

NOW() returns a constant time that indicates the time at which the statement began to execute. (Within a stored function or trigger, NOW() returns the time at which the function or triggering statement began to execute.) This differs from the behavior for SYSDATE(), which returns the exact time at which it executes.

MYSQL

SELECT NOW(), SLEEP(2), NOW();
+---------------------+----------+---------------------+
| NOW()               | SLEEP(2) | NOW()               |
+---------------------+----------+---------------------+
| 2006-04-12 13:47:36 |        0 | 2006-04-12 13:47:36 |
+---------------------+----------+---------------------+

SELECT SYSDATE(), SLEEP(2), SYSDATE();
+---------------------+----------+---------------------+
| SYSDATE()           | SLEEP(2) | SYSDATE()           |
+---------------------+----------+---------------------+
| 2006-04-12 13:47:44 |        0 | 2006-04-12 13:47:46 |
+---------------------+----------+---------------------+