TO_DATE

The TO_DATE function converts a CHAR or VARCHAR2 argument to a value of DATE data type

If you are using TimesTen type mode, for information on the TO_DATE function, refer to documentation from previous releases of TimesTen.

SQL syntax

TO_DATE (Expression1[, Expression2 [, Expression3]])

Parameters

TO_DATE has the parameters:

Parameter	Description
`Expression1`	A CHAR or VARCHAR2 expression.
`Expression2`	The format string. This expression is usually required. It is optional only when `Expression1` is in the default date format YYYY-MM-DD HHMMSS.
`Expression3`	A CHAR or VARCHAR2 expression to specify the NLS parameter which is currently ignored.

Description

You can use a datetime format model with the TO_DATE function. For more information on datetime format models, see "Datetime format models".

Examples

Command> SELECT TO_DATE ('1999, JAN 14', 'YYYY, MON DD') FROM dual;
< 1999-01-14 00:00:00 >
1 row found.

Command> SELECT TO_CHAR(TO_DATE('1999-12:23','YYYY-MM:DD')) FROM dual;
< 1999-12-23 00:00:00 >
1 row found.

Command> SELECT TO_CHAR(TO_DATE('12-23-1997 10 AM:56:20', 
'MM-DD-YYYY HH AM:MI:SS'),'MONTH,DD YYYY HH:MI-SS') FROM dual;
< DECEMBER ,23 1997 10:56-20 >
1 row found.