Unix Timestamp
A Unix timestamp is a system for representing a point in time as the number of seconds that have elapsed since 00:00:00 UTC on January 1, 1970, known as the Unix epoch. It is widely used in computing for timekeeping, logging, and data synchronization across different systems and time zones. This integer-based format simplifies time calculations and storage, as it avoids the complexities of date-time strings and time zone conversions.
Developers should learn Unix timestamps for handling time in applications that require precise, time-zone-agnostic operations, such as logging events, scheduling tasks, or storing timestamps in databases. They are essential in distributed systems, APIs, and data processing where consistency across servers is critical, and they facilitate easy arithmetic for time intervals, like calculating durations or setting expiration dates.