Understanding how to accurately store dates and times is essential for any database that handles schedules, events, or logs. SQL provides dedicated data types for this purpose, making it easy to represent and retrieve these values. The two most fundamental types are DATE and TIME. The DATE type stores calendar dates—year, month, and day—without any information about the time of day. A typical format for a DATE value is "YYYY-MM-DD", such as "2024-06-01". The TIME type, on the other hand, stores just the time of day, without any reference to a particular date. Its standard format is "HH:MM:SS", like "14:30:00". These formats are widely supported and are designed to be unambiguous and consistent across SQL implementations.

CREATE TABLE meetings (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    meeting_date DATE,
    meeting_time TIME
);

After defining a table with DATE and TIME columns, you can insert and retrieve values using these standard formats. When adding records, provide dates in the "YYYY-MM-DD" format and times in the "HH:MM:SS" format. When querying, SQL will return these values in the same format, making it easy to filter or sort by date or time. For example, you might want to find all meetings scheduled on a certain day or at a specific time. By using the appropriate data types, you ensure this data is stored efficiently and can be compared or manipulated using SQL's built-in date and time functions.

-- Insert a new meeting
INSERT INTO meetings (meeting_date, meeting_time)
VALUES ('2024-06-15', '09:00:00');

-- Query meetings on a specific date
SELECT * FROM meetings
WHERE meeting_date = '2024-06-15';

-- Query meetings at a specific time
SELECT * FROM meetings
WHERE meeting_time = '09:00:00';