Returns the current time of the Unix System.

Properties

Time-unit:   Select from second, millisecond, microsecond, nanosecond

Output

Output-location: The location to store the timestamp

What is Unix Time?

The unix time stamp is a way to track time as a running total of seconds. This count starts at the Unix Epoch on January 1st, 1970 at UTC. Therefore, the unix time stamp is merely the number of seconds between a particular date and the Unix Epoch. It should also be pointed out (thanks to the comments from visitors to this site) that this point in time technically does not change no matter where you are located on the globe. This is very useful to computer systems for tracking and sorting dated information in dynamic and distributed applications both online and client side.

Why are UNIX Timestamps Useful?

The best thing about a UNIX timestamp is that your website visitors can see your website in real time rather than the time zone of your website’s server. Timestamps are often used on forums that are used by members in locations throughout the world but they can be used in other occasions too – such as for recording when a member logs into a website or recording the time and date a blog post was published. This is great news for many webmasters for example for those who run a blog in the UK but predominantly want to attract American readers.