Epoch Time Storage
Epoch time storage is a method of representing and storing timestamps as a single integer value, typically the number of seconds or milliseconds that have elapsed since a fixed reference point called the epoch (commonly January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC, known as Unix time). This approach simplifies date-time handling in computing by providing a standardized, timezone-agnostic format that is efficient for storage, comparison, and arithmetic operations. It is widely used in databases, file systems, APIs, and programming languages to manage temporal data consistently across different systems.
Developers should use epoch time storage when building applications that require efficient date-time operations, such as sorting events, calculating durations, or handling data across multiple time zones, as it avoids the complexities of parsing human-readable strings. It is particularly useful in distributed systems, logging, caching, and performance-critical applications where speed and consistency are priorities, and it reduces storage overhead compared to string-based formats like ISO 8601. Learning this concept is essential for working with timestamps in databases like PostgreSQL or MySQL, and in languages like Python, JavaScript, or Java that support epoch time conversions.