Description
This property establishes the format mask used in converting a date value to or from a string that is not potentially visible to the end user. This format mask is most commonly used when executing a Built-in subprogram.
Applies to application (global value)
Set programmatically
Refer to Built-in
GET_APPLICATION_PROPERTY Built-in
SET_APPLICATION_PROPERTY Built-in
Required/Optional optional. However, it is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that, for a new application, you set this property to a format mask containing full century and time information. It is also recommended that this format mask be the same as the one specified in the PLSQL_DATE_FORMAT property .
Default
As noted above, it is strongly recommended that you explicitly set this value for a new application. However, if you do not, the default value used will depend on the context.
Forms first determines whether the item is a DATE2, DATE4, or DATETIME object, and then tries a series of format masks accordingly. (These default masks are used for compatibility with prior releases.)
Object types are determined as shown in the following table:
Date object |
Type |
---|---|
Item of datatype DATETIME |
DATETIME |
Item of datatype DATE: |
|
…having a format mask that contains yyyy, YYYY, rrrr, or RRRR |
DATE4 |
…having a format mask that does not contain yyyy, YYYY, rrrr, or RRRR |
DATE2 |
…not having a format mask, and its length (Maximum Length) is 10 or more |
DATE4 |
…not having a format mask, and its length (Maximum Length) is 9 or less |
DATE2 |
Parameter (as in :PARAMETER.myparam) of datatype DATE. (Note that there are no DATETIME parameters, and that a parameter's Maximum Length property applies only to CHAR parameters.) |
DATE2 |
LOV column of datatype DATE. (Note that there are no DATETIME LOV columns.) |
DATE2 |
Internal value of system variables CURRENT_DATETIME and EFFECTIVE_DATE |
DATETIME |
After determining the object type of the item to be converted, Forms uses one of the masks listed below. There are two sets of masks -- one set for YY operations, and another set for RR operations.
For a date-to-string operation, only the first (primary) format mask is used. For a string-to-date operation, Oracle Forms first tries the first/primary format mask. If that conversion is unsuccessful, it tries the other (secondary) masks, in the order shown
For YY:
Object Type |
Format Masks Used |
---|---|
DATE2 |
DD-MON-YY DD-MM-SYYYY HH24:MI:SS |
DATE4 |
DD-MON-YYYY DD-MM-SYYYY HH24:MI:SS |
DATETIME |
DD-MON-YYYY HH24:MI:SS DD-MON-YYYY HH24:MI DD-MM-SYYYY HH24:MI:SS |
For RR:
Object Type |
Format Masks Used |
DATE2 |
DD-MON-RR DD-MM-SYYYY HH24:MI:SS |
DATE4 |
DD-MON-RRRR DD-MM-SYYYY HH24:MI:SS |
DATETIME |
DD-MON-RRRR HH24:MI:SS DD-MON-RRRR HH24:MI DD-MM-SYYYY HH24:MI:SS |