CURRENT_DATE and CURRENT_TIMESTAMP in SQL - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ query_result

intermediate

What is the output of CURRENT_DATE?

Consider the SQL query:

SELECT CURRENT_DATE;

What type of value does this query return?

SQL

SELECT CURRENT_DATE;

A The current date and time as a timestamp (e.g., '2024-06-15 14:30:00')

B A string showing the day of the week (e.g., 'Monday')

C The current time only (e.g., '14:30:00')

D The current date as a date value without time (e.g., '2024-06-15')

💡 Hint

CURRENT_DATE returns only the date part, no time included.

CURRENT_DATE returns the current date without any time information. It is a date type value.

❓ query_result

intermediate

What does CURRENT_TIMESTAMP return?

Look at this SQL query:

SELECT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP;

What kind of value will this return?

SQL

SELECT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP;

A The current date and time as a timestamp (e.g., '2024-06-15 14:30:00')

B The current time only (e.g., '14:30:00')

C The current date only (e.g., '2024-06-15')

D The current year as a number (e.g., 2024)

💡 Hint

CURRENT_TIMESTAMP includes both date and time.

CURRENT_TIMESTAMP returns the current date and time as a timestamp value.

🧠 Conceptual

advanced

Difference between CURRENT_DATE and CURRENT_TIMESTAMP

Which statement correctly describes the difference between CURRENT_DATE and CURRENT_TIMESTAMP in SQL?

A Both return the same value but in different formats.

B CURRENT_DATE returns date and time, while CURRENT_TIMESTAMP returns only the date.

C CURRENT_DATE returns only the date, while CURRENT_TIMESTAMP returns date and time.

D CURRENT_DATE returns the time only, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP returns date only.

💡 Hint

Think about what parts of the date/time each function includes.

CURRENT_DATE returns only the date part without time. CURRENT_TIMESTAMP returns both date and time.

📝 Syntax

advanced

Which SQL query correctly uses CURRENT_TIMESTAMP to insert current date and time?

You want to insert the current date and time into a table named 'events' with a column 'event_time'. Which query is correct?

A INSERT INTO events (event_time) VALUES (CURRENT_TIMESTAMP);

B INSERT INTO events (event_time) VALUES CURRENT_TIMESTAMP;

C INSERT INTO events (event_time) VALUES 'CURRENT_TIMESTAMP';

D INSERT INTO events (event_time) VALUES (CURRENT_DATE);

💡 Hint

Remember to use parentheses around function calls in VALUES.

Option A correctly uses CURRENT_TIMESTAMP as a function call inside VALUES with parentheses.

🔧 Debug

expert

Why does this query cause an error?

Given the query:

SELECT CURRENT_DATE + CURRENT_TIMESTAMP;

Why does this cause an error?

SQL

SELECT CURRENT_DATE + CURRENT_TIMESTAMP;

A The query is missing a FROM clause.

B You cannot add a date and a timestamp directly; they are different types.

C CURRENT_DATE and CURRENT_TIMESTAMP are not valid SQL functions.

D The plus sign (+) is not allowed in SQL queries.

💡 Hint

Think about the data types and what operations are allowed between them.

You cannot add a date and a timestamp directly because they are different data types. This causes a type mismatch error.