What is the Unix Timestamp?
The Unix timestamp (also known as Epoch time) is a system for tracking time as a running total of seconds. It counts the number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970 (UTC), minus leap seconds.
Why use Unix Time?
Unlike human-readable date formats (DD/MM/YYYY vs MM/DD/YYYY) which vary by country, Unix time is universal. It is a single integer, making it incredibly efficient for computers to store, sort, and calculate time differences.
Seconds
Standard format (10 digits). Used by PHP, Python, and MySQL.Example: 1672531200
Milliseconds
Higher precision (13 digits). Used by JavaScript and Java.Example: 1672531200000
The Year 2038 Problem
On January 19, 2038, 32-bit systems will no longer be able to store the Unix timestamp because the number of seconds will exceed the maximum value a signed 32-bit integer can hold (2,147,483,647). This is similar to the Y2K bug. Modern 64-bit systems have already solved this, pushing the limit billions of years into the future.