Re: Bad timestamp external representation

On Tue, 29 Apr 2003 00:02:20 -0400
Tom Lane  wrote:

> Mark Tessier  writes:
> > Actually, that was the last thing I tried before I wrote this note. Before I entered
> 
> > herboris=> INSERT INTO cart (cartid, clientid, invdate, paydate) VALUES
> > herboris-> (4469858, 2, 'current', 'now');
> > And still got the same error message:
> > ERROR:  Bad date external representation 'current'
> 
> 'now' is the only accepted spelling.
> 
> ('current' used to mean something subtly different from 'now', but that
> meaning isn't supported anymore.)

I should have mentioned that I'm using version 7.3. As a result of using version 7.3, I'm beginning to realize that my "Practical Postgresql" book isn't quite up to date. The reason I want to use current timestamp constant is because it allows me to calculate the elapsed time between current and now constants (current - now = elapsed_time_in_days) According to the book, "If you watch the...row with the current timestamp, you'll notice it changes in each query to show the updated system time...".(pg. 81). Anyway, since the "current" meaning isn't supported anymore, how would I go about calculating the amount of time (in days) that has elapsed since inserting or updating a field with the initial date.

Thanks for your help,

Mark Tessier