Using Single-Row Functions to

Customize Output
 Lesson Agenda

• Single-row SQL functions

• Character functions
• Number functions
• Working with dates
• Date functions

3 - 20

Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I 3 - 20

 Working with Dates

• The Oracle Database stores dates in an internal numeric

format: century, year, month, day, hours, minutes, and
seconds.
• The default date display format is DD-MON-RR.
– Enables you to store 21st-century dates in the 20th century
by specifying only the last two digits of the year
– Enables you to store 20th-century dates in the
21st century in the same way

SELECT last_name, hire_date

FROM employees
WHERE hire_date < '01-FEB-88';
';

3 - 21

Working with Dates

The Oracle Database stores dates in an internal numeric format, representing the century, year,
month, day, hours, minutes, and seconds.
The default display and input format for any date is DD-MON-RR. Valid Oracle dates are between
January 1, 4712 B.C., and December 31, 9999 A.D.
In the example in the slide, the HIRE_DATE column output is displayed in the default format DD-
MON-RR. However, dates are not stored in the database in this format. All the components of the
date and time are stored. So, although a HIRE_DATE such as 17-JUN-87 is displayed as day, month,
and year, there is also time and century information associated with the date. The complete data
might be June 17, 1987, 5:10:43 PM.

Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I 3 - 21

 RR Date Format

Current Year Specified Date RR Format YY Format

1995 27-OCT-95 1995 1995
1995 27-OCT-17 2017 1917
2001 27-OCT-17 2017 2017
2001 27-OCT-95 1995 2095

If the specified two-digit year is:

0–49 50–99
If two digits The return date is in The return date is in
of the 0–49 the current century the century before
current the current one
year are: The return date is in The return date is in
50–99 the century after the current century
the current one

3 - 22

RR Date Format
The RR date format is similar to the YY element, but you can use it to specify different centuries. Use
the RR date format element instead of YY so that the century of the return value varies according to
the specified two-digit year and the last two digits of the current year. The table in the slide
summarizes the behavior of the RR element.
Current Year Given Date Interpreted (RR) Interpreted (YY)
1994 27-OCT-95 1995 1995
1994 27-OCT-17 2017 1917
2001 27-OCT-17 2017 2017
2048 27-OCT-52 1952 2052
2051 27-OCT-47 2147 2047

Note the values shown in the last two rows of the above table. As we approach the middle of the
century, then the RR behavior is probably not what you want.

Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I 3 - 22

 Using the SYSDATE Function

SYSDATE is a function that returns:

• Date
• Time

SELECT sysdate
FROM dual;
;

3 - 24

Using the SYSDATE Function

SYSDATE is a date function that returns the current database server date and time. You can use
SYSDATE just as you would use any other column name. For example, you can display the current
date by selecting SYSDATE from a table. It is customary to select SYSDATE from a public table
called DUAL.
Note: SYSDATE returns the current date and time set for the operating system on which the database
resides. Therefore, if you are in a place in Australia and connected to a remote database in a location
in the United States (U.S.), the sysdate function will return the U.S. date and time. In that case,
you can use the CURRENT_DATE function that returns the current date in the session time zone.
The CURRENT_DATE function and other related time zone functions are discussed in detail in the
course titled Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals II.

Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I 3 - 24

 Arithmetic with Dates

• Add or subtract a number to or from a date for a resultant

date value.
• Subtract two dates to find the number of days between
those dates.
• Add hours to a date by dividing the number of hours by 24.

3 - 25

Arithmetic with Dates

Because the database stores dates as numbers, you can perform calculations using arithmetic
operators such as addition and subtraction. You can add and subtract number constants as well as
dates.
You can perform the following operations:

Operation Result Description

date + number Date Adds a number of days to a date
date – number Date Subtracts a number of days from a date
date – date Number of days Subtracts one date from another
date + number/24 Date Adds a number of hours to a date

Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I 3 - 25

 Using Arithmetic Operators
with Dates

SELECT last_name, (SYSDATE-hire_date)/7 AS WEEKS

FROM employees
WHERE department_id = 90;

3 - 26

Using Arithmetic Operators with Dates

The example in the slide displays the last name and the number of weeks employed for all employees
in department 90. It subtracts the date on which the employee was hired from the current date
(SYSDATE) and divides the result by 7 to calculate the number of weeks that a worker has been
employed.
Note: SYSDATE is a SQL function that returns the current date and time. Your results may differ
depending on the date and time set for the operating system of your local database when you run the
SQL query.
If a more current date is subtracted from an older date, the difference is a negative number.

Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I 3 - 26

 Lesson Agenda

• Single-row SQL functions

• Character functions
• Number functions
• Working with dates
• Date functions

3 - 27

Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I 3 - 27

 Date-Manipulation Functions

Function Result
MONTHS_BETWEEN Number of months between two dates
ADD_MONTHS Add calendar months to date
NEXT_DAY Next day of the date specified
LAST_DAY Last day of the month

ROUND Round date

TRUNC Truncate date

3 - 28

Date-Manipulation Functions
Date functions operate on Oracle dates. All date functions return a value of the DATE data type
except MONTHS_BETWEEN, which returns a numeric value.
• MONTHS_BETWEEN(date1, date2): Finds the number of months between date1 and
date2. The result can be positive or negative. If date1 is later than date2, the result is
positive; if date1 is earlier than date2, the result is negative. The noninteger part of the result
represents a portion of the month.
• ADD_MONTHS(date, n): Adds n number of calendar months to date. The value of n must
be an integer and can be negative.
• NEXT_DAY(date, 'char'): Finds the date of the next specified day of the week
('char') following date. The value of char may be a number representing a day or a
character string.
• LAST_DAY(date): Finds the date of the last day of the month that contains date

The above list is a subset of the available date functions. ROUND and TRUNC number functions can
also be used to manipulate the date values as shown below:
• ROUND(date[,'fmt']): Returns date rounded to the unit that is specified by the format
model fmt. If the format model fmt is omitted, date is rounded to the nearest day.
• TRUNC(date[, 'fmt']): Returns date with the time portion of the day truncated to the
unit that is specified by the format model fmt. If the format model fmt is omitted, date is
truncated to the nearest day.
The format models are covered in detail in the lesson titled “Using Conversion Functions and
Conditional Expressions.”
Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I 3 - 28
 Using Date Functions

Function Result
MONTHS_BETWEEN 19.6774194
('01-SEP-95','11-JAN-94')
ADD_MONTHS (‘31-JAN-96',1) '29-FEB-96'
NEXT_DAY ('01-SEP-95','FRIDAY') '08-SEP-95'
LAST_DAY ('01-FEB-95') '28-FEB-95'

3 - 29

Using Date Functions

In the example in the slide, the ADD_MONTHS function adds one month to the supplied date value
“31-JAN-96” and returns “29-FEB-96.” The function recognizes the year 1996 as the leap year and,
therefore, returns the last day of the February month. If you change the input date value to “31-JAN-
95,” the function returns “28-FEB-95.”
For example, display the employee number, hire date, number of months employed, six-month
review date, first Friday after hire date, and the last day of the hire month for all employees who have
been employed for fewer than 150 months.
SELECT employee_id, hire_date, MONTHS_BETWEEN (SYSDATE, hire_date)
TENURE, ADD_MONTHS (hire_date, 6) REVIEW, NEXT_DAY (hire_date,
'FRIDAY'), LAST_DAY(hire_date)
FROM employees WHERE MONTHS_BETWEEN (SYSDATE, hire_date) < 150;

Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I 3 - 29

 Using ROUND and TRUNC Functions with Dates

Assume SYSDATE = '25-JUL-03':

Function Result
ROUND(SYSDATE,'MONTH') 01-AUG-03
ROUND(SYSDATE ,'YEAR') 01-JAN-04
TRUNC(SYSDATE ,'MONTH') 01-JUL-03
TRUNC(SYSDATE ,'YEAR') 01-JAN-03

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Using ROUND and TRUNC Functions with Dates

The ROUND and TRUNC functions can be used for number and date values. When used with dates,
these functions round or truncate to the specified format model. Therefore, you can round dates to the
nearest year or month. If the format model is month, dates 1-15 result in the first day of the current
month. Dates 16-31 result in the first day of the next month. If the format model is year, months 1-6
result in January 1 of the current year. Months 7-12 result in January 1 of the next year.
Example:
Compare the hire dates for all employees who started in 1997. Display the employee number, hire
date, and starting month using the ROUND and TRUNC functions.
SELECT employee_id, hire_date,
ROUND(hire_date, 'MONTH'), TRUNC(hire_date, 'MONTH')
FROM employees
WHERE hire_date LIKE '%97';

Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I 3 - 30

 Summary

In this lesson, you should have learned how to:

• Perform calculations on data using functions
• Modify individual data items using functions

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Summary
Single-row functions can be nested to any level. Single-row functions can manipulate the following:
• Character data: LOWER, UPPER, INITCAP, CONCAT, SUBSTR, INSTR, LENGTH
• Number data: ROUND, TRUNC, MOD
• Date values: SYSDATE, MONTHS_BETWEEN, ADD_MONTHS, NEXT_DAY, LAST_DAY
Remember the following:
• Date values can also use arithmetic operators.
• ROUND and TRUNC functions can also be used with date values.
SYSDATE and DUAL
SYSDATE is a date function that returns the current date and time. It is customary to select
SYSDATE from a single-row public table called DUAL.

Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I 3 - 32