ISO 8601 is an international standard for representing date and time-related data. It is maintained by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and aims to provide a clear and unambiguous way to represent dates and times in a consistent format across various systems and applications.

• Date Format: ISO 8601 specifies a date format of YYYY-MM-DD. For example, July 4, 2024, is represented as 2024-07-04. This format is designed to avoid ambiguity and ensure consistency in date representation.
• Time Format: The standard defines the time format as hh:mm:ss, where hours, minutes, and seconds are separated by colons. For example, 2:30 PM would be represented as 14:30:00. ISO 8601 also supports fractional seconds, e.g., 14:30:00.123.

• Combined Date and Time Format: ISO 8601 allows for the combination of date and time in a single format. The combined format is YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss, where “T” separates the date from the time. For example, 2024-07-04T14:30:00 represents July 4, 2024, at 2:30 PM.
• Time Zones: The standard supports time zone representation using the UTC offset format. For instance, 2024-07-04T14:30:00+02:00 indicates a time zone that is 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

• Durations: ISO 8601 includes a format for representing durations, such as PnYnMnDTnHnMnS, where “P” signifies a period, “T” separates date and time components, and nY, nM, nD, nH, nM, and nS represent years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds, respectively. For example, P1Y2M3DT4H5M6S represents a duration of 1 year, 2 months, 3 days, 4 hours, 5 minutes, and 6 seconds.
• Intervals: Intervals are represented using a format that combines two date and time values, separated by a slash (/). For example, 2024-07-04/2024-08-04 represents an interval from July 4, 2024, to August 4, 2024.

• Software Development: ISO 8601 is widely used in software development for storing and exchanging date and time information. It ensures that dates and times are represented consistently, reducing the risk of errors and confusion.
• Data Interchange: The standard is often employed in data interchange formats such as JSON and XML, facilitating the accurate and consistent representation of date and time data across different systems and platforms.

• Unambiguity: By using a standardized format, ISO 8601 eliminates ambiguity in date and time representation, making it easier to interpret and compare data.
• Internationalization: The standard supports internationalization by providing a consistent format that can be understood and used globally, regardless of regional date and time conventions.

ISO 8601 is a crucial standard for representing date and time data in a consistent and unambiguous manner. It covers various formats for dates, times, durations, and intervals, and is widely used in software development and data interchange to ensure accuracy and interoperability.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601
• https://www.iso.org/iso-8601-date-and-time-format.html