Question

I want to use the NOW() function with a specific timezone, say GMT+8 for a user and GMT-2 for another user. How can I achieve this?

I am guessing that the time for NOW() is related somewhat to the timezone and time of the SQL server, but I want it to be such that FN(GMT+8) always give me the NOW() in GMT+8 irregardless of the timezone the SQL server is in.

Mini question: How do i display/know the current time of the SQL server?

Answer 1

The NOW() function provides the current time in the local timezone of the server. If you wish to convert to a different timezone, you can use CONVERT_TZ()

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UPDATE:

You can use a per-connection timezone (that doesn’t affect the system timezone) and get the effect you want:

mysql> select now();
+---------------------+
| now()               |
+---------------------+
| 2011-06-03 22:40:51 |
+---------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> SET time_zone = '+08:00';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> select now();
+---------------------+
| now()               |
+---------------------+
| 2011-06-04 10:41:15 |
+---------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)