simple oracle sql statement question 1

[mikeyd]

How can I use a select * from statement and also use the to_char function for a date so it shows the date with hour and minutes.

For example I am tying this but it is not working

select *, to_char(lastupdatetime, 'DD:MON:YY:HH:MI:SS AM)
from whatevertable

I just want to be able to select all and format the date in the lastupdatetime field all in one statement.
thanks and sorry for the simple question I just can not remember how to do it.

 

[Dagon]

a) You're missing a quote at the end of the date format.
b) To do a select * and also another column, you would need to give an alias to the table name.
c) You need to make sure that lastupdatetime is definitely a date, not a varchar2.

select w.*, to_char(lastupdatetime, 'DD:MON:YY:HH:MI:SS AM')
from whatevertable w

If you just want to test the date format mask on its own, the easiest way to do this is just apply it to SYSDATE e.g.

select to_char(sysdate, 'DD:MON:YY:HH:MI:SS AM') from dual



For Oracle-related work, contact me through Linked-In.

 

[stefanhei]

When you use the astersik you get all columns, so you will see lastupdatetime twice.

SELECT whatevertable.*, to_char(lastupdatetime, 'DD:MON:YY:HH:MI:SS AM)
  FROM whatevertable

 

[mikeyd]

Thanks guys...that is exactely what I was looking for.