SQL Dates

Store and query dates and times.

✍️ 3 exercises + code challenge in this lesson

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Dates are usually stored as DATE, DATETIME or TIMESTAMP. The safest text format is ISO: '2026-10-22'.

Date functions differ between databases:

Current date: CURRENT_DATE, NOW() (MySQL), GETDATE() (SQL Server), date('now') (SQLite)
Parts: YEAR(d) / MONTH(d) (MySQL), EXTRACT(YEAR FROM d) (PostgreSQL), strftime('%Y', d) (SQLite)
Arithmetic: DATE_ADD(d, INTERVAL 7 DAY) (MySQL), date(d, '+7 days') (SQLite)

Key Takeaways: SQL Dates

Mastering SQL Dates helps you write clean and reliable SQL code. Follow standard conventions, test edge cases, and keep logic simple. Try running the code example below and complete the exercises to build confidence.

SQL Dates Code Example

SQL

SELECT date('now') AS Today;

SELECT OrderID, OrderDate,
       strftime('%m', OrderDate) AS Month,
       date(OrderDate, '+7 days') AS DeliveryBy,
       julianday('now') - julianday(OrderDate) AS DaysAgo
FROM Orders
WHERE OrderDate >= '2026-06-01';

SELECT strftime('%Y-%m', OrderDate) AS Month, COUNT(*) AS Orders
FROM Orders GROUP BY Month;

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SQL Dates Practice Exercises

Check what you learned in “SQL Dates”.

/ 3 solved

Fill in the blank

Get the month part of a date in SQLite.

strftime('', OrderDate)

✓ Correct! Not quite. Try again.

Multiple choice

Which format is safest for storing dates as text?

ISO: '2026-10-22' '22/10/2026' 'Oct 22 26' '22-Oct'

✓ Correct! Not quite. Try again.

Code challenge

Select OrderID of orders placed in July 2026 or later and before September 2026, sorted by OrderID.

Write the code in the live editor. Your answer is checked automatically.

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SQL Dates

💡 Key Takeaways: SQL Dates

SQL Dates Code Example

SQL Dates Practice Exercises

Key Takeaways: SQL Dates