Saving timestamp in mysql table using php

Question

I have a field in a MySQL table which has a timestamp data type. I am saving data into that table. But when I pass the timestamp (1299762201428) to

Answer 1

If the timestamp is the current time, you could use the mysql NOW() function

Answer 2

Use FROM_UNIXTIME().

Note: 1299762201428 looks more like a millisecond-timestamp (like Date()*1 in JavaScript), and you probably have to divide that by 1000.

Answer 3

Use datetime field type. It comes with many advantages like human readability (nobody reads timestamps) and MySQL functions.

To convert from a unix timestamp, you can use MySQL function FROM_UNIXTIME(1299762201428). To convert back you can use UNIX_TIMESTAMP: SELECT UNIX_TIMESTAMP(t_time) FROM table_name.

Of course, if you don't like MySQL function, you could always use PHP: 'INSERT INTO table_name SET t_time = ' . date('Y-m-d H:i:s', $unix_timestamp).