The MySQL DATE function is a powerful tool for handling date-related operations within the MySQL database management system. It is used to extract the date part from a date or datetime expression. The DATE function is particularly useful when you want to work with dates without considering the time portion.

Syntax

The syntax for the DATE function is as follows:

DATE(date_expression)

Here, date_expression can be a date, datetime, or timestamp column, or it can be a string representing a date or datetime value.

Examples

Let’s explore some examples to better understand how the DATE function works:

Using DATE with a Date Column

SELECT DATE(order_date) AS order_date
FROM orders;

In this example, the DATE function is applied to the order_date column in the orders table. It extracts only the date part, and the result set will contain only the date information.

Using DATE with a DateTime Literal

SELECT DATE('2022-01-01 14:30:45') AS extracted_date;

This example demonstrates how to use the DATE function with a datetime literal. It will return ‘2022-01-01’, extracting only the date portion.

Using DATE with Current Timestamp

SELECT DATE(NOW()) AS current_date;

Here, the DATE function is applied to the current timestamp using the NOW function, providing the current date without the time component.

Using DATE with String Representation

SELECT DATE('2022-12-31') AS extracted_date;

The DATE function can also be used with a string representation of a date, extracting only the date part and returning ‘2022-12-31’ in this example.

The MySQL DATE function is valuable for various scenarios, such as filtering data based on specific dates, grouping records by date, or comparing dates without considering the time portion. It simplifies date manipulation within MySQL queries, making it easier to work with date-related data in a database.