"Ralf Schnickmann" <ralf_schnickmann_at_gmx.de> wrote in message
news:bjsuo7$n3e7m$1_at_uni-berlin.de...
> Hi!
>
> The Query
> SELECT * FROM T_Test WHERE Start > '1.1.2002'
> is running with the correct results.
>
> Using a date with time like
> SELECT * FROM T_Test WHERE Start > '1.1.2002 1:00:01'
> doesnt work.
>
> My problem is that i have to avoid any function like to_date etc.
>
> Thanks,
> Ralf
>
>
Why not use to_date? What you are attempting to do is compare a date with a
string. To do that you are assuming a particular format for the string. So
if someone changes that format your program breaks or works erratically(even
worse). If you are using a program that is using an API to call the
database then it should have native support for a date datatype and hence
you would not need to_date. I would use to_date, it allows me to have
programs that run reliably, and it clearly specifies what is the month and
what is the day. In your example, I cannot tell.(it depends if you are
using a European format or an American format, which is a bad thing to
depend on.)
What format or label something is in is very important. The Mars Lander
crashed because the two entities used two different units of measure (NASA
uses metric and Lockheed Martin uses English) and they exchanged data as raw
numbers with out a label of the units. Units and formats are important and
implicit conversions raise the probability of an error.
Jim
Received on Fri Sep 12 2003 - 19:56:48 CDT
