Syntax for querying between dates with ADO

Question

Hello,
I am connecting to Oracle tables using ADO in Microsoft Access. I am not familiar with Oracle Sql. I am trying to execute the following query string but am not retrieving and records:
strSql = "SELECT COUNT(*) " _
& "FROM CCC2.CASE_EPRP WHERE CALL_DATE >= '1/1/2002' " _
& "AND CALL_DATE <= '2/1/2002'"
I can retrieve a record count if I only have the first date, but if I use the date range above the query returns zero records even though there are records for that date range. Could someone explain the correct way to write this query?
Thanks,
Rich

Answer 1

You really don't want to rely on implicit string to date conversion ever. Oracle will use your NLS date settings to do the conversion, but different users (and different databases) may have this set differently, so one user might have '2/1/2002' convert to February 1, 2002 while another user might have it convert to January 2, 2002. A third user might not be able to convert the string at all.
The proper way to do this is to use either Oracle syntax
"where call_date >= to_date( '1/1/2002', 'MM/DD/YYYY' )
and call_date <= to_date( '2/1/2002', 'MM/DD/YYYY' )"
or to use the ODBC date escape sequence, {d }, to create the dates.
If this isn't the problem, there may be issues because Oracle dates have a time component. If you don't specify a time, Oracle will default to midnight, so any call_date records after 12:00am on 2/1/2002 won't be found.
Justin