What data type should I use for date values in MySQL table?

Other Questions MySQL
1

I’m trying to create a MySQL table but running into issues with date formatting. Here’s my table structure:

CREATE TABLE messages (
    msg_id int,
    created_at datetime
);

The problem is that my date data comes in format like 3/15/23 but datetime expects something like 2023-03-15. I keep getting errors when trying to insert the data. What would be the best column type to handle dates that look like 3/15/23? Should I stick with datetime or use a different type? Any help would be great.

2

Your table structure looks good - datetime is the right call here. I hit the same issues migrating legacy data and ended up writing a simple MySQL function that saved me tons of time. If your data formats aren’t consistent, try a stored procedure or CASE statements to handle the variations. One gotcha I ran into: datetime stores local time without timezone info. If timezones matter for your app, use timestamp instead. Also, MySQL handles NULL values well with datetime when you hit malformed dates during import. Really helped me spot problem records without killing the whole insertion.

3

The datetime type works fine - your problem is the data format conversion. I hit this same issue last year importing Excel files. You’ve got two options: use STR_TO_DATE in your INSERT statements like STR_TO_DATE('3/15/23', '%m/%d/%y'), or convert the dates to YYYY-MM-DD format in your app before hitting the database. I’d go with preprocessing in your app - keeps the database queries cleaner and you can catch conversion errors easier.

4

datetime is definitely the right choice. had the same headache importing CRM data a few months back. pro tip - try CONVERT() if you’re dealing with weird formats, it handles them better than STR_TO_DATE sometimes. also check your MySQL sql_mode settings - strict mode can mess with date conversions.

5

totally agree, datetime is the way to go. it’s all about how you format that input. using php or python for conversion before hitting mysql is a smart move. way better for troubleshooting if things get messy!

6

Keep datetime as your column type but add validation on your application side. I learned this the hard way dealing with mixed date formats from different sources. MySQL’s datetime handles everything perfectly once you get the format right - the real issue is consistency. If you’re always getting M/D/YY format, stick with STR_TO_DATE. But if your source data varies between formats, normalize everything to ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD) in your preprocessing layer. Saves you headaches later when querying or sorting by dates.