How to Convert MySQL TIMEDIFF Output into Day, Hour, Minute, Second Format?

Converting Time Diff Outputs to Day, Hour, Minute, Second Format

When calculating the difference between two time values using MySQL's TIMEDIFF function, you may obtain results in the format of hours, minutes, and seconds. However, there may be instances where you need this output to be displayed in a more user-friendly way, such as displaying the number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds.

Consider the following query:

<code class="sql">SELECT TIMEDIFF(end_time,start_time) AS "total" FROM `metrics`;</code>

If the end_time and start_time columns contain values like '2023-03-08 12:34:56' and '2023-03-04 15:12:34', the query will return the time difference as '105:08:22'. While this shows the total duration of 105 hours, 8 minutes, and 22 seconds, it may not be the most convenient representation for the user.

To convert this output into a more human-readable format, you can employ the following approach:

<code class="sql">SELECT CONCAT(
FLOOR(HOUR(TIMEDIFF(end_time,start_time)) / 24), ' days ',
MOD(HOUR(TIMEDIFF(end_time,start_time)), 24), ' hours ',
MINUTE(TIMEDIFF(end_time,start_time)), ' minutes')</code>

Replace end_time and start_time with your specific columns in the query. The output will be in the format of 'days hours minutes'. For instance, the time difference of '105:08:22' would be displayed as '4 days 9 hours 8 minutes'.

It's important to note that this method is only applicable for time differences that fall within 35 days. For time differences spanning over a month, alternative approaches like using TIMESTAMPDIFF() may be more appropriate.

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