Getting a timestamp

In this recipe, we simply get the system's current timestamp.

How to do it...

This is how we will get the timestamp.

1. Open PowerShell ISE. Go to Start | Accessories | Windows PowerShell | Windows PowerShell.

2. Add the following script and run it:

   $timestamp = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MMM-dd-hhmmtt"
   
   #display timestamp
   $timestamp

Following is a sample result:

How it works...

Often, we find ourselves needing the timestamp to append to different files we create or modify. To get the timestamp in PowerShell, we simply have to use the Get-Date cmdlet, which gives the following default format:

To change the format, we can use the –Format switch, which accepts a format string. In our recipe, we used the following format: "yyyy-MMM-dd-hhmmtt".

There are a number of standard format strings that return preformatted datetime type, or you can also compose your own format string. Common format strings, as documented in MSDN are as follows:

Format Pattern	Description
tt	AM/PM designator
ss...