How to Convert a String to a Date in SQL

How to Convert a String to a Date in SQL

Have you ever needed to convert a string to a date in SQL? It can be a tricky task, but luckily there are a few different ways to do it. In this post, we'll take a look at how to convert a string to a date in SQL and provide some examples to help you get started.

The Solution

The solution is to use the TO_DATE() function. This function takes two arguments: the string you want to convert and the format of the string. For example, if you wanted to convert the string '2021-01-01' to a date, you would use the following query:

SELECT TO_DATE('2021-01-01', 'YYYY-MM-DD') FROM dual;

Examples

Let's look at a few examples of how this function can be used. Suppose you have a table called users with the following data:

name      birthdate
------------------------
John      2021-01-01
Jane      2021-02-01
John      2021-03-01
Bob       2021-04-01

If you wanted to convert the birthdate column to a date, you would use the following query:

SELECT TO_DATE(birthdate, 'YYYY-MM-DD') FROM users;

This query would return the result 2021-01-01, 2021-02-01, 2021-03-01, and 2021-04-01.

Additional Info

The TO_DATE() function is supported by most major databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server. However, the syntax may vary slightly depending on the database you are using. For more information, check out the documentation for your particular database. 🤓