[SalesForce] How to get the server timestamp through SOQL query or REST API

This question was asked before, but the answer given was how to do it with Apex, and I am not using Apex:

How to get the current timestamp using SOQL query?

How do I do the equivalent of getServerTimestamp() in Apex, as either a SOQL query or through the REST API?

I need the server timestamp to record when I last do a sync with data that resides on Salesforce and my local database. I will then query for records that have a system modified timestamp later than the last sync. If I use my local timestamp, I risk and difference in clocks resulting in some modifications being missed.

Thanks for your help.

Best Answer

When trying to sync, you don't need to worry about the mechanics of determining the correct time to use. Instead, just use getUpdated (/vXX.X/sobjects/ObjectName/updated?start=X&end=Y in the REST API), which will return a list of ID values you can retrieve from and a value called lastDateCovered, which is the next start time that you should use in your replication. In flight requests won't be included, but the lastDateCovered attribute will be offset by any in flight requests-- your next sync request will automatically include any values you missed in the last request because they were still in flight (not fully committed). The only issue you have to worry about is selecting the correct first initial sync date/time. For more information, I'd suggest taking a look at the SOAP API Developer's Guide under Data Replication, and the Force.com REST API Developer's Guide for REST-specific considerations.

Related Solutions

[SalesForce] Is is safer (limitwise) to call Database.getQueryLocator() with SOQL String than Static SOQL

There is a separate limit for Database.getQueryLocator, and that limit is 50,000,000 rows. It does not matter if you use the String parameter or the [query] parameter, you will be subject to 50,000,000 returned rows. The static method is useful when you don't need to alter the fields, objects, sort order, etc, but you want to have full binding capability, while the dynamic method is useful when you want to be able to dynamically assign fields, objects, and so on, at the cost of binding capability.

// Cannot do this using dynamic queries.
Database.getQueryLocator([select id,name from account where name in :accounts.keyset()]);

// Cannot do this using static queries.
Database.getQueryLocator('select '+fields+' from '+objectname+' where '+conditions);

The static method is useful when you'll only ever be querying a specific object with specific fields (which accounts for probably 99% of all use cases), while the dynamic method is useful when you don't know what fields and objects you'll need. For example, I'd imagine that Field Trip (available on the AppExchange) uses this method, because it needs to be able to query any field and any object to determine data population.

[SalesForce] How to get the current timestamp using SOQL query

Date values are stored in UTC time format in Salesforce, the timezone is only applied when the date is displayed. If you are in Apex, you can use the various methods it provides to return an automatically adjusted value or the GMT value.

Remember that dateTime field values are stored as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When one of these values is returned in the Salesforce application, it is automatically adjusted for the timezone specified in your organization preferences. Your application may need to handle this conversion.

You can retrieve the current time zone using the UserInfo class.

TimeZone tz = 
  UserInfo.getTimeZone();
System.debug(
  'Display name: ' + 
  tz.getDisplayName());
System.debug(
  'ID: ' + 
  tz.getID());

Best Answer

Related Solutions

[SalesForce] Is is safer (limitwise) to call Database.getQueryLocator() with SOQL String than Static SOQL

[SalesForce] How to get the current timestamp using SOQL query

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