How to display date in a different format in oracle

Question

I have a table with a date field. By default, select max(date) from table; returns the date in 'dd-mmm-yy' format. How do I select the date in 'MM/DD/YYYY' format, without changing the table 's structure or the field's format.

Thanks, Supraja

Answer 1

select to_char(max(date), 'MM/DD/YYYY') from table;

Answer 2

Try the following:

select to_char(sysdate,'mm/dd/yyyy') as maxdate from dual;

Some information on the oracle-specific function to_char():

• http://www.techonthenet.com/oracle/functions/to_char.php