What is a timestamp?
A timestamp is a character sequence or coded information that identifies when a specific event occurred, usually giving the date and time, sometimes accurate to a fraction of a second. The term originated from rubber stamps used in offices to imprint the current date and sometimes the time in ink on paper documents to record when the documents were received. Common examples of such timestamps are the postmark on a letter or the "in" and "out" times on an attendance card.
In modern times, the usage of this term has been extended to refer to digital date and time information attached to digital data. For example, computer files contain a time stamp indicating when the file was last modified, and digital cameras add a time stamp to the photos they took, recording the date and time the photos were taken.
These data are usually displayed in a consistent format, making it easy to compare two different records and track progress over a period of time. The practice of recording the time stamp and actual data in a consistent manner is called a time stamp. The sequential number of events is sometimes called a time stamp.