date format

I am trying to figure out what the format a date field is being stored in an Oracle 8.0.5 database. Problem is that depending on the NLS_DATE_FORMAT setting on the client, SQL*PLUS will return the format differently. So two questions:

1. Is there a way to tell the real format the data is being stored in.
2. what is the best way to run a query against an oracle date field and be assured of an accurate comparison, where say:

select ins_date from docs
where ins_date < '23-MAR-2001';

Thanks.

Steve

newsgroup replies preferred. Remove nospam when replying thru email. Received on Wed Oct 17 2001 - 20:13:29 CDT