PostgreSQL NOW() vs CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
PostgreSQL NOW() vs CURRENT_TIMESTAMP is a SQL function in the PostgreSQL Specific category. PostgreSQL provides multiple functions for current date/time with different consistency guarantees. The syntax is NOW() / CURRENT_TIMESTAMP / CLOCK_TIMESTAMP(). It accepts see syntax. It returns current date/time. A typical example: SELECT NOW(); -- 2026-06-06 14:30:00.123456+00 SELECT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP; -- 2026-06-06 14:30:00.123456+00 (same) SELECT CURRENT_DATE; -- 2026-06-06 SELECT CURRENT_TIME; -- 14:30:00.123456+00 -- Transaction time vs wall clock: BEGIN; SELECT NOW(); -- T1 (fixed for transaction) SELECT pg_sleep(2); SELECT NOW(); -- T1 (same! NOW is transaction-stable) SELECT CLOCK_TIMESTAMP(); -- T2 (actual wall clock time) COMMIT; -- Statement-level timestamps: -- statement_timestamp(): start of current statement -- clock_timestamp(): actual current time (changes during statement) --… A close relative is SERIAL, which postgreSQL auto-increment type. Creates an INTEGER column with a sequence. Equivalent to AUTO_INCREMENT in MySQL. A close relative is RETURNING, which postgreSQL extension that returns values from INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE statements (like OUTPUT in SQL Server).