Strange date problem - 10g forms

Question

Hi,
I execute this procedure from PL/SQL in database, I get both date and time.
SET SERVEROUTPUT ON
DECLARE
   p_qry      VARCHAR2(400);
   p_limit    NUMBER;
   retval     BOOLEAN := FALSE;
   p_min_date VARCHAR2(40);
   p_max_date VARCHAR2(40);
BEGIN
   p_qry := 'select /*+ INDEX(RAW_LOG RAW_LOG_IND */ timestamp from raw_log where ne_id=23';
   p_limit := 100;
   retval := Cp_Misc.Get_Time_Stamp(p_qry,p_limit,p_min_date,p_max_date);
   dbms_output.put_line('p_min_date=>'||p_min_date);
   dbms_output.put_line('p_max_date=>'||p_max_date);
END;
SQL> start vqry.sql
p_min_date=>07-09-25 15:33:03
p_max_date=>07-09-26 14:02:53
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.If I execute the above same procedure from a form. I get only the date in the following format:
DD-MON-YY
Example:
25-SEP-07
Hours, Minutes & Seconds are null.
I am using 10 forms. In 6i forms, the same procedure returns HH24 ,MM,SS
Any ideas?. Is this a bug?
Thanks

Answer 1

You need to look at the code inside your function Cp_Misc.Get_Time_Stamp.
In that function, there is a To_Char conversion of the date that is using your session's default nls_date_format, which is a very bad thing to do. Every To_Char on a date should ALWAYS specify the output format required.
In fact, that function may not even have a To_Char function, but instead, it may have a place where the date is moved to a varchar2 variable, and PL/SQL does an implicit To_Char conversion.
In SQL Plus, issue this statement:
alter session set nls_date_format='dd-mon-yy';and then run your test.
Or in your form, issue this before you try your test:
Forms_DDL('alter session set nls_date_format=''yy-mm-dd hh24:mi:ss''');Then fix that function, so it is not dependent on the nls_date_format.