How Can I Calculate the Time Difference Between Two Datetimes in MySQL?

Calculating Datetime Differences in MySQL

Need to determine the time elapsed between two past events? Utilizing MySQL's datetime data type, you can effortlessly calculate the difference between two specific dates and times. Here's a comprehensive guide to performing this operation efficiently:

To compute the time lapse between two datetimes, MySQL provides the versatile TIMESTAMPDIFF function. This function takes three arguments: the unit of time in which you want the difference calculated (e.g., seconds, minutes, or days), the earlier datetime, and the later datetime.

For instance, consider a scenario where you have a database containing a 'last_login' field with date and time values. Upon each user's subsequent login, you seek to display the time difference since their last session.

To achieve this, you would use the following query:

SELECT TIMESTAMPDIFF(SECOND, last_login_time, NOW())

Here, 'last_login_time' represents the value from the 'last_login' field, and NOW() retrieves the current date and time. The function calculates the difference in seconds between the previous login time and the current time.

Remember that the TIMESTAMPDIFF function can compute time differences in various units, allowing you to customize the output according to your needs. By utilizing this powerful tool, you can efficiently analyze and display temporal data in your MySQL applications.

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