ISO 8601
ISO 8601 is an international standard for representing dates, times, and durations in a clear, unambiguous format. It defines numeric representations such as YYYY-MM-DD for dates and HH:MM:SS for times, ensuring consistency across systems and regions. This format is widely used in computing, data exchange, and documentation to avoid confusion from locale-specific date formats.
Developers should use ISO 8601 when handling date and time data in applications, APIs, databases, or logs to ensure interoperability and prevent errors from ambiguous formats. It is essential for internationalization, data serialization (e.g., in JSON or XML), and timestamping in distributed systems, as it provides a machine-readable and human-friendly standard that supports time zones and durations.