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From: tim@ohday.sybase.com (Tim Wood)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: Sybase timestamps -- are they really?
Message-ID: <12382@sybase.sybase.com>
Date: 17 Apr 91 18:13:02 GMT
References: <3838@jethro.Corp.Sun.COM>
Sender: news@Sybase.COM
Distribution: usa
Organization: Sybase, Inc.
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In article <3838@jethro.Corp.Sun.COM> gerardt@backnine.Corp.Sun.COM (Gerard Tynen) writes:
>
>Does anyone know if the timestamp datatype in Sybase denotes
>an actual time and date?  

Yes.  And, no.  That is, it doesn't.  Think of it more as an event counter.

>
>I have tried converting timestamps as follows (in isql):
>
>	select convert(datetime, timestamp) from [table with timestamp]
>
>
>and got a date in the year 2067 AD.

Just goes to show how futuristic we are. :->

>This may be another example of the Sybase engineers taking a 
>martini break just before making a major design decision, 

Nonsense.  We never partake of anything stronger than Pernod.

>but one ought to expect the timestamp to denote exactly the time a
>row was updated. Si? No?

Quisas, with a limited view of the concept of time.  Events can be
associated with time but not with a calendar.

HTH,
-TW

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