A timestamp is a sequence of characters, denoting the date or time at which a certain event occurred. In modern usage it usually refers to data stored in a computer or digital electronic equipment. For example, computer files contain timestamps that tell when the file was created and last modified, and digital cameras add timestamps to the pictures they take, recording the date and time the picture was taken. Before the advent of computers, the term referred to rubber stamps that were used in offices to stamp the current date and time in ink on paper documents, to record when the document was received.
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A timestamp is the time at which an event is recorded by a computer, not the time of the event itself. In many cases, the difference may be inconsequential: the time at which an event is recorded by a timestamp (e.g., entered into a log file) should be very, very close to the time of the occurrence of the event recorded.
In some cases, a timestamp can be just the numbering of events, the use of a date_time format to store a timestamp is then not mandatory.
This data is usually presented in a consistent format, allowing for easy comparison of two different records and tracking progress over time; the practice of recording timestamps in a consistent manner along with the actual data is called timestamping.
Timestamps are typically used for logging events or in a sequence of events (SOE), in which case each event in the log or SOE is marked with a timestamp. In filesystems, timestamp may mean the stored date/time of creation or modification of a file.
Examples of timestamps:
ISO 8601 standardizes the representation of dates and times.[1] These standard representations are often used to construct timestamp values.
Timestamp can also refer to: