Date Format Issue in Session

Question

DECLARE
err_mesg_out          NUMBER(1):=0;
x     DATE;
y     VARCHAR2(50) := Null;
z     DATE;
BEGIN
select scheduled_date into x
from CONTRACT_SCHEDULED_FULFILLMENT where CONTRACT_ID=94875672 and fulfillment_type_id=9;
dbms_output.put_line('x ='||x);
select TO_CHAR(scheduled_date,'MM/DD/YYYY HH24:MI:SS') into y
from CONTRACT_SCHEDULED_FULFILLMENT where CONTRACT_ID=94875672 and fulfillment_type_id=9;
dbms_output.put_line('y ='||y);
z := TO_DATE(y,'MM/DD/YYYY HH24:MI:SS');
dbms_output.put_line('z ='||z);
--my_proc(10001,20002,z,err_mesg_out);
END;
OutPut
x =14-feb-2011
y =02/14/2011 11:46:24
z =14-feb-2011
err_mesg_out =0I want to get the 'z' variable value in 'MM/DD/YYYY HH24:MI:SS' format in my session. Why I think so is because the same format/value need to be passed to
a procedure "my_proc" - which is currently commented out. Even if I hardcode the 'z' param value while calling the "my_proc" it still throwing exception
my_proc(10001,20002,'02/14/2011 11:46:24',err_mesg_out);
ORA-01843: not a valid monthWhen this procedure is getting executed from the application code with the same value/format it's working fine and I think something need to be done in my SQLPLUS session. Can anyone suggest how I can set the date format to resolve this ?

Answer 1

Hi,
As Blushadow said, format (such as the difference between '16-Feb-11' and '02/16/2011 05:08:13') is something that applies only to strings, not DATEs. All DATEs have the same (purely internal) format, which has nothing to do with how they appear when you display them.
By the way, assuming you want the variables x and y, the following code does exactly the same as what you posted:
DECLARE
     err_mesg_out     NUMBER (1)     := 0;
     x          DATE;
     y          VARCHAR2 (50)      := Null;
     z          DATE;
BEGIN
     select      scheduled_date
     into      x
     from      CONTRACT_SCHEDULED_FULFILLMENT
     where      CONTRACT_ID          = 94875672
     and      fulfillment_type_id     = 9;
     dbms_output.put_line ('x =' || x);
     y := TO_CHAR (x, 'MM/DD/YYYY HH24:MI:SS');
     dbms_output.put_line ('y =' || y);
     z := x;
     dbms_output.put_line ('z =' || z);
--     my_proc (10001, 20002, z, err_mesg_out);
END;
/ There's no need to query the table more than once, and it's just plain silly to convert a DATE (such as scheduled_date) into a string (such as y), just so you can convert it back to a DATE (such as z) again.
If all you want to do is call my_proc, then the following is all you need:
DECLARE
     err_mesg_out     NUMBER (1)     := 0;
     z          DATE;
BEGIN
     select      scheduled_date
     into      z
     from      CONTRACT_SCHEDULED_FULFILLMENT
     where      CONTRACT_ID          = 94875672
     and      fulfillment_type_id     = 9;
     dbms_output.put_line ('z =' || z);
--     my_proc (10001, 20002, z, err_mesg_out);
END;
/