format_date
Use the format_date function to format a date according to the specified mask and language code.
format_date ( date; template; language )This function returns a value of type TEXT.
The function has three parameters:
- date, type NUMBER. The date to be formatted.
- template, type TEXT. The template specifying how the date should be formatted.
- language, type TEXT. Optional. The language used to format textual components in the template.
The template must be composed of a sequence of format types. The format types are case-sensitive.
The following format types are supported:
| Format Type | Description | Example |
|
d |
Day of the month |
2 |
|
dd |
Day of the month, padded to 2 positions |
02 |
|
ddd |
Abbreviated day of the week |
Mon |
|
dddd |
Day of the week |
Monday |
|
M |
Month |
3 |
|
MM |
Month, padded to two positions |
03 |
|
MMM |
Abbreviated month |
Mar |
|
MMMM |
Month |
March |
|
y |
Last two digits of the year, omitting a leading 0 |
15 |
|
yy |
Last two digits of the year |
15 |
|
yyyy |
The year |
2015 |
|
g |
Period or era |
A.D. |
|
gg |
Period or era |
A.D. |
|
*SHORT |
Windows short date format |
02/03/2015 |
|
*LONG |
Windows long date format |
02 March 2015 |
Examples are based on the date 20150302 and the ENG output language.
Spaces in the template appear in the same location in the output. A template can contain text that is not matching any of the format types. This text is mostly passed unchanged. To ensure that text is passed unchanged you should enclose it in single quotation marks. A single quotation mark as fixed text must be written as a sequence of two single quotation marks in a row.
The format types *SHORT and *LONG cannot be combined with other format types or layout.
The language parameter is optional. If it is omitted or empty, the current output language is used. The following values are support for this parameter:
- Any of the output language supported by KCM Core (see language_code)
- Any Language Culture Name installed on the Microsoft Windows Server hosting KCM Core
If the language is not supported or the date is invalid the function returns "????".
Examples
format_date (20150302; "MM'//'dd'//'yyyy") results in "03/02/2015"
format_date (20150302; "dd'-'MM'-'''yy") results in "02-03-'15"
format_date (20150302; "dddd") results in "Monday"
format_date (20150302; "*LONG"; language:="SVE") results in "den 3 februari 2015"
format_date (20150302; "*LONG"; "nl-NL") results in "dinsdag 3 februari 2015"
format_date (20150229; "yyyy") results in "????" (invalid date)
format_date (20150302; "yyyy"; "tlh") results in "????" (invalid language)
The earliest date supported by this function is Jan 1, 1601 (16010101).
The implementation of the format_date function depends on the Microsoft Windows NLS support. The output can depend on the version of Microsoft Windows and installed components. For a detailed description of the supported templates, see the Microsoft Windows documentation on Day, Month, Year, and Era Format Pictures available on the Internet.
The format_date function was introduced in KCM Core 4.4.