Difference between ex date and record date?

Difference between ex date and record date?
The Ex date is the last day which the seller will get the declared dividend. It is generally two trading days before the record date.

The record date is the date which the dividend is assigned to the owner on the company's record books.

The difference exists because of the time lag between the actual sale of the stock and when it's recorded on the company's books.

So if you buy a stock on the day after the Ex date, the seller will still get the dividend because his/her name will appear on the company's books on the record date.