A timestamp is a sequence of characters or encoded information that indicates the time at which an event occurred. It is commonly used in computing and data management to record when a specific action, such as a file creation or modification, takes place. Timestamps help in tracking changes and maintaining the order of events. In digital systems, timestamps can be formatted in various ways, often including the date and time down to the second or millisecond. They are essential in applications like databases, where they help manage data integrity, and in programming, where they can be used to log events for debugging purposes.