MySQL Timestamp: Purpose, Range & Auto-Update

In MySQL, the timestamp type is used to store date and time information accurate to the second. Fields with the timestamp type will automatically update to the current date and time when records are inserted or updated. This type is commonly used to track the creation or last update time of data. Timestamp fields can be set to auto-update and can have a default value of the current time. The time range stored in timestamp fields is from January 1, 1970, 00:00:01, to January 19, 2038, 03:14:07. Timestamp fields occupy 4 bytes of storage space.