# Best MySQL date/time data type when using Ruby?

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/best-mysql-date-time-data-type-when-using-ruby/109058>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [July 11, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/best-mysql-date-time-data-type-when-using-ruby/109058 "2007-07-11T03:38:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![john\_old](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/9f8e36/32.png) [@john\_old](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/john_old)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/best-mysql-date-time-data-type-when-using-ruby/109058/1 "2007-07-11T03:38:37Z")

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In the years when I used PHP to develop web apps, I found either a MySQL  
TIMESTAMP or an integer of the same value was most convenient for  
storing date/time information and then converting back and forth using  
PHP functions.

Now that I’m using Ruby, I’m wondering whether the MySQL DATETIME type  
might be a better match with the Ruby Date class and its methods, based  
on looking at the Date class documentation. I’d be interested to know  
whether Rubyists who use MySQL mostly use the DATETIME data type or the  
TIMESTAMP data type? (I’m not using ROR, though I have nothing against  
it.)

Any input much appreciated.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![john\_old](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/9f8e36/32.png) [@john\_old](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/john_old)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 5:14am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/best-mysql-date-time-data-type-when-using-ruby/109058/2 "2007-07-11T05:14:45Z")

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On Jul 10, 2007, at 8:36 PM, John N Joyner wrote:

> whether Rubyists who use MySQL mostly use the DATETIME data type or  
> the  
> TIMESTAMP data type? (I’m not using ROR, though I have nothing against  
> it.)
> 
> ## Any input much appreciated.
> 
> John N Joyner  
> Ruby, MySQL, Pair Networks

You don’t need to use Rails to use its database ORM component  
ActiveRecord. ActiveRecord doesn’t do the timestamp mysql type really  
the way you would expect (AFAIK). It instead chooses to simple store  
a datetime and let you manage that date data in Ruby code instead.

If you choose to use Ruby DBI gem, it is more what you might be used  
to with PHP or Perl more direct SQL stuff.

Either approach works pretty well in Ruby, since the Ruby classes  
Time and Date have a lot of nice functionality built in.