Problem
There are many instances when dates and times don’t show up at your doorstep in the format you’d like it to be, nor does the output of a query fit the needs of the people viewing it. One option is to format the data in the application itself. Another option is to use the built-in functions SQL Server provides to format the date string for you.
Different Data Format in MS SQL
Solution
SQL Server provides a number of options you can use to format a date/time string. One of the first considerations is the actual date/time needed. The most common is the current date/time using getdate(). This provides the current date and time according to the server providing the date and time. If a universal date/time is needed, then getutcdate() should be used. To change the format of the date, you convert the requested date to a string and specify the format number corresponding to the format needed. Below is a list of formats and an example of the output:
| Format | Query | Output |
| 1 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 1) | 09/27/13 |
| 2 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 2) | 13.09.27 |
| 3 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 3) | 27/09/13 |
| 4 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 4) | 27.09.13 |
| 5 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 5) | 27-09-13 |
| 6 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 6) | 27 Sep 13 |
| 7 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 7) | Sep 27, 13 |
| 10 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 10) | 09-27-13 |
| 11 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 11) | 13/09/27 |
| 101 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 101) | 09/27/2013 |
| 102 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 102) | 2013.09.27 |
| 103 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 103) | 27/09/2013 |
| 104 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 104) | 27.09.2013 |
| 105 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 105) | 27-09-2013 |
| 106 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 106) | 27 Sep 2013 |
| 107 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 107) | Sep 27, 2013 |
| 110 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 110) | 09-27-2013 |
| 111 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 111) | 2013/09/27 |
Different Time Formats
| Format | Query | Output |
| 8 or 108 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 8) | 00:38:54 |
| 9 or 109 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 9) | Sep 27 2013 12:38:54:840AM |
| 14 or 114 | select convert(varchar, getdate(), 14) | 00:38:54:840 |
Get YEAR, MONTH and DAY
SELECT YEAR(GETDATE()) –2013
SELECT MONTH(GETDATE()) –09
SELECT DAY(GETDATE()) –27
Get Year Month Day in MS SQL
You can also format the date or time without dividing characters, as well as concatenate the date and time string:
| Sample statement | Output |
| select replace(convert(varchar, getdate(),101),’/’,”) | 12302006 |
| select replace(convert(varchar, getdate(),101),’/’,”) + replace(convert(varchar, getdate(),108),’:’,”) | 12302006004426 |
Yugal Pandya 