A Unix timestamp (or epoch time) counts seconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 UTC. It provides a universal, timezone-independent way to represent time in software.
Examples
- 0 = Jan 1, 1970 00:00:00 UTC
- 1000000000 = Sep 9, 2001
- 1700000000 = Nov 14, 2023
Why It Matters
Databases, APIs, and programming languages use Unix timestamps for reliable date/time storage and comparison. It avoids timezone confusion and daylight saving issues.
Year 2038 Problem
32-bit systems store timestamps as signed integers, maxing out at 2,147,483,647 (Jan 19, 2038). Most modern systems use 64-bit timestamps to avoid this.