All About Epoch Timestamps

What is an Epoch Timestamp?

An epoch timestamp is a numerical representation of a specific point in time. It is the number of seconds that have elapsed since the Unix epoch, which is January 1, 1970 at 00:00:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Why are Epoch Timestamps Used?

Epoch timestamps are widely used in computing systems for a variety of purposes, including:

• Storing dates and times in a compact and efficient format
• Tracking the passage of time
• Comparing different dates and times
• Synchronizing clocks across different systems

Converting Epoch Timestamps to Human-Readable Dates

Epoch timestamps can be converted into human-readable dates using a variety of tools and libraries. For example, in Python, you can use the datetime module to convert an epoch timestamp to a datetime object, which can then be formatted into a string using the strftime method.

import datetime # Create an epoch timestamp timestamp = 1658038400 # Convert the epoch timestamp to a datetime object dt = datetime.fromtimestamp(timestamp) # Format the datetime object into a human-readable string date_string = dt.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') print(date_string) This code will output the following string: 2023-07-19 12:00:00

Conclusion

Epoch timestamps are a versatile and efficient way to represent dates and times in computing systems. They are widely used in a variety of applications, including database systems, operating systems, and web servers. Understanding how epoch timestamps work can be helpful for developers who need to work with dates and times in their code.