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Paul Allies
Paul Allies

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The Timeless Truth: Store Dates as UTC

Handling dates and times can be tricky. The best practice? Always store datetimes in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). It's a universal, consistent standard, avoiding ambiguity with time zones and DST, simplifying calculations, and ensuring historical accuracy.

While GMT is often used interchangeably, UTC is the more precise standard.

For display, format UTC to the user's local time zone. This involves identifying the user's time zone and using appropriate tools to convert and format the UTC timestamp for their context.

Store UTC, display local – for data integrity and happy users worldwide.

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