Name

FROM_UNIXTIME( )

Synopsis

FROM_UNIXTIME(unix_timestamp[, format])

This function returns the date based on Unix time, which is the number of seconds since January 1, 1970, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), with 12:00:01 being the first second of Unix time (the epoch). Optionally the results may be formatted using the formatting codes from DATE_FORMAT( ). It will return the date and time in a yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss format, but will return the data in a yyyymmdd format if it’s used as part of a numeric calculation.

SELECT FROM_UNIXTIME(0)
       AS 'My Epoch Start';
+----------------------+
| My Epoch Start       |
+----------------------+
|  1969-12-31 18:00:00 |
+----------------------+

Here we’re selecting the date based on zero seconds since the start of Unix time. The results are off by six hours because I’m not located in the GMT zone. This function is typically used on columns in which their values were derived from UNIXTIME_STAMP( ).

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