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ftTimeStamp

ftTimeStamp = 36

Example​

function IsSQLTimestamp(Field: TField): Boolean;
begin
  Result := Field.DataType = ftTimeStamp;
end;

Usage​

ftTimeStamp identifies a structured dbExpress-style SQL timestamp containing calendar and clock components but no timezone offset.

Additional Technical Info​

ftTimeStamp is declaration ordinal 36 of TFieldType. Delphi maps it to TSQLTimeStampField, whose native value is a TSQLTimeStamp record with separate year, month, day, hour, minute, second and fractions components.

Current Delphi documentation and conversion source treat Fractions as milliseconds. The provider/database can have coarser or finer precision, so verify rounding when writing or moving timestamps. The structure carries no timezone or offset; calling it a timestamp does not establish UTC semantics.

AsDateTime converts the structure to Delphi's floating serial value, losing the structured custom-Variant type and potentially precision. A Null field returns the all-zero NullSQLTimeStamp through structured access and zero through AsDateTime; AsVariant preserves Null. Preserve the Null flag separately from any zero/sentinel representation.

String assignment calls Delphi's StrToSQLTimeStamp and can raise EConvertError; display formatting is locale-sensitive unless explicitly controlled. Use a defined wire format and explicit timezone policy. Choose ftTimeStampOffset when the actual data contract retains an offset.

The example only inspects metadata and was source-reviewed; no timestamp conversion, clock, timezone, dataset, database, runtime or image test ran.

External references

Created 2026-07-15