datecreated

DateCreated is a metadata attribute that records the moment an object was originally created. It is used across software systems, including file systems, databases, and application data models, to establish provenance and support chronological operations such as sorting and auditing.

In practice, dateCreated is stored as a timestamp, often in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and expressed in ISO 8601 or as a Unix epoch. It may be set automatically by the system at creation time or supplied by the application. The exact format and behavior can vary by platform and language.

File systems differ in how they treat creation dates. Some provide an explicit birth or creation timestamp; others expose only last modification times or status changes. Copying files can alter or preserve the original dateCreated depending on the tool and filesystem, which can affect consistency when moving data between environments.

In databases and APIs, dateCreated is commonly implemented as a field with a default value of the current timestamp, such as DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, and remains immutable to reflect the original creation moment. It is frequently used for auditing, filtering, and ordering records or objects.

Considerations include time zone handling, clock accuracy, and the availability of a creation timestamp across platforms. When possible, store dateCreated in UTC, document the format, and treat it as immutable metadata separate from lastUpdated or dateModified.