CONVERT - Datetime to String - SQL Server to Oracle Migration

In SQL Server you can use CONVERT function to convert a DATETIME value to a string with the specified format. In Oracle you can use TO_CHAR function.

Note that SQL Server CONVERT and Oracle formats are different.

SQL Server:

  -- 3rd parameter specifies 121 style (ODBC 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:MI:SS.FFF' format with milliseconds)
  SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR, GETDATE(), 121);
  # 2022-12-27 14:33:49.413

Oracle:

  -- Specify string format using format specifiers
  SELECT TO_CHAR(SYSTIMESTAMP, 'YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS.FF3') FROM dual;
  # 2022-12-27 14:33:49.413

When you convert CONVERT function to TO_CHAR you have to map the SQL Server style to the appropriate format string in Oracle:

Conversion examples:

For more information, see SQL Server to Oracle Migration.