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Oracle data modeling question, date versus timestamp

unleashedJan 17 2017 — edited Jan 30 2017

I didn't see a forum for data modeling, so I thought I'd drop this in the data modeling tool forum.

I recall seeing somewhere, like AskTom, an answer to a question about char versus varchar2.  What I recall was a clear explanation about the difference, but also the direction of just using varchar2 for all alphanumeric data types.  This made me think about something similar, date and timestamp. 

Would it make sense, at this day in age, to only use timestamps as the date value types, or would it still be using dates and timestamps as needed?  For example, a birth date would not benefit from the parts of seconds provided by a timestamp, although it still could be used, whereas a row's updated date column may be very beneficial to have <1 second values for possible comparison capabilities.  Timestamp would also be the choice if timezone is needed.

Would there be any pitfalls if timestamps were to be used when a date would suffice?

The answer may simply be, analyze your needs and choose based on those needs.

Just asking for any thoughts from the community.

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Locked on Feb 27 2017
Added on Jan 17 2017
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