Get current date/time in seconds

Question

How do I get the current date/time in seconds in Javascript?

Answer 1

Using new Date().getTime() / 1000 is an incomplete solution for obtaining the seconds, because it produces timestamps with floating-point units.

const timestamp = new Date() / 1000; // 1405792936.933
// Technically, .933 would be milliseconds. 

A better solution would be:

// Rounds the value
const timestamp = Math.round(new Date() / 1000); // 1405792937

// - OR -

// Floors the value
const timestamp = new Date() / 1000 | 0; // 1405792936

Values without floats are also safer for conditional statements, as the float may produce unwanted results. The granularity you obtain with a float may be more than needed.

if (1405792936.993 < 1405792937) // true