SQL format()

The FORMAT() Function

The FORMAT() function is used to format how a field is to be displayed.

SQL FORMAT() Syntax

SELECT FORMAT(column_name,format) FROM table_name

 

Parameter Description
column_name Required. The field to be formatted.
format Required. Specifies the format.

 

SQL FORMAT() Example

We have the following "Products" table:

Prod_Id ProductName Unit UnitPrice
1 Jarlsberg 1000 g 10.45
2 Mascarpone 1000 g 32.56
3 Gorgonzola 1000 g 15.67

Now we want to display the products and prices per today's date (with today's date displayed in the following format "YYYY-MM-DD").

We use the following SELECT statement:

SELECT ProductName, UnitPrice, FORMAT(Now(),'YYYY-MM-DD') as PerDate
FROM Products

The result-set will look like this:

ProductName UnitPrice PerDate
Jarlsberg 10.45 2008-10-07
Mascarpone 32.56 2008-10-07
Gorgonzola 15.67 2008-10-07