2.219 NLS_DATE_FORMAT

NLS_DATE_FORMAT specifies the default datetime format model to use with the TO_CHAR and TO_DATE functions. The default value of this parameter is determined by NLS_TERRITORY.
Property Description

Parameter type

String

Syntax

NLS_DATE_FORMAT = "format"

Default value

Derived from NLS_TERRITORY

Modifiable

ALTER SESSION

Modifiable in a PDB

Yes

Range of values

Any valid datetime format model

Basic

No

The value of this parameter can be any valid datetime format model, and the value must be surrounded by double quotation marks. For example:

NLS_DATE_FORMAT = "MM/DD/YYYY"

Note:

The value of this initialization parameter NLS_DATE_FORMAT is used to initialize the session value of this parameter, which is the actual value referenced by the SQL query processing. This initial value is overridden by a client-side value if the client uses the Oracle JDBC driver or if the client is OCI-based and the NLS_LANG client setting (environment variable) is defined. The initialization parameter value is, therefore, usually ignored.

See Also: