Golang time.UnixMicro Function

The time.UnixMicro function in Golang is part of the time package and is used to convert Unix time in microseconds since the Unix epoch into a time.Time object. This function is particularly useful when working with timestamps that include microsecond precision, which is common in high-resolution timekeeping or certain data formats.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. time.UnixMicro Function Syntax
3. Examples
   • Basic Usage
   • Converting Unix Microsecond Timestamps to time.Time
   • Handling Edge Cases
4. Real-World Use Case
5. Conclusion

Introduction

The time.UnixMicro function allows you to create a time.Time object from a Unix timestamp given in microseconds. This is especially useful for interpreting timestamps that require microsecond-level precision.

time.UnixMicro Function Syntax

The syntax for the time.UnixMicro function is as follows:

func UnixMicro(usec int64) Time

Parameters:

• usec: The number of microseconds since the Unix epoch (January 1, 1970).

Returns:

• Time: A time.Time value representing the specified Unix timestamp in microseconds.

Examples

Basic Usage

This example demonstrates how to use the time.UnixMicro function to convert a Unix timestamp in microseconds into a time.Time object.

Example

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"time"
)

func main() {
	// Define a Unix timestamp in microseconds
	timestampMicro := int64(1691490000000000) // Corresponds to 2023-08-08 12:00:00 UTC

	// Convert the Unix timestamp to a time.Time object
	t := time.UnixMicro(timestampMicro)

	// Print the converted time
	fmt.Println("Converted time:", t)
}

Output:

Converted time: 2023-08-08 12:00:00 +0000 UTC

Converting Unix Microsecond Timestamps to time.Time

This example shows how to convert multiple Unix microsecond timestamps into time.Time objects.

Example

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"time"
)

func main() {
	// Define a slice of Unix timestamps in microseconds
	timestamps := []int64{
		1625616000000000, // 2021-07-07 00:00:00 UTC
		1657152000000000, // 2022-07-07 00:00:00 UTC
		1688688000000000, // 2023-07-07 00:00:00 UTC
	}

	// Convert each Unix microsecond timestamp to a time.Time object and print it
	for _, ts := range timestamps {
		t := time.UnixMicro(ts)
		fmt.Println("Converted time:", t)
	}
}

Output:

Converted time: 2021-07-07 00:00:00 +0000 UTC
Converted time: 2022-07-07 00:00:00 +0000 UTC
Converted time: 2023-07-07 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

Handling Edge Cases

This example demonstrates how the time.UnixMicro function handles edge cases, such as very large or very small Unix microsecond timestamps.

Example

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"time"
)

func main() {
	// Define edge case Unix timestamps in microseconds
	negativeTimestamp := int64(-62135596800000000) // Corresponds to year 1
	largeTimestamp := int64(2534023007999999999)   // Corresponds to 9999-12-31 23:59:59.999999 UTC

	// Convert the Unix timestamps to time.Time objects
	tNegative := time.UnixMicro(negativeTimestamp)
	tLarge := time.UnixMicro(largeTimestamp)

	// Print the converted times
	fmt.Println("Converted time for negative timestamp:", tNegative)
	fmt.Println("Converted time for large timestamp:", tLarge)
}

Output:

Converted time for negative timestamp: 0001-01-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC
Converted time for large timestamp: 9999-12-31 23:59:59.999999 +0000 UTC

Real-World Use Case

Converting High-Precision Timestamps from Logs

In real-world applications, the time.UnixMicro function can be used to convert high-precision Unix timestamps (e.g., from logs or monitoring systems) into human-readable dates.

Example: Parsing a Log Entry with Microsecond Precision

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"time"
)

func parseLogEntry(timestamp int64) time.Time {
	// Convert the Unix microsecond timestamp to a time.Time object
	return time.UnixMicro(timestamp)
}

func main() {
	// Example Unix timestamp in microseconds from a log entry
	logTimestamp := int64(1691490000000000) // Corresponds to 2023-08-08 12:00:00 UTC

	// Parse the log entry timestamp
	parsedTime := parseLogEntry(logTimestamp)

	// Print the parsed time
	fmt.Println("Log entry time:", parsedTime)
}

Output:

Log entry time: 2023-08-08 12:00:00 +0000 UTC

Conclusion

The time.UnixMicro function in Go is used for converting Unix timestamps in microseconds into time.Time objects. Whether you’re dealing with high-precision timestamps from logs, databases, or external systems, time.UnixMicro makes it easy to handle and interpret these timestamps in a human-readable format.