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Formatting dates with CAST() and CONVERT()

We can use the CAST() function to translate data between various data types, including between date/time types and string types. The CONVERT() function takes three parameters: a data type, an input value, and an optional format code.

In this exercise, we will see how we can use the CAST() and CONVERT() functions to translate dates to strings for formatting by looking at the (late) night the Chicago Cubs won the World Series in the US in 2016. In the process, we will see one difference between the DATETIME and the DATETIME2 data types for CAST() and the added flexibility of CONVERT().

This exercise is part of the course

Time Series Analysis in SQL Server

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Hands-on interactive exercise

Have a go at this exercise by completing this sample code.

DECLARE
	@CubsWinWorldSeries DATETIME2(3) = '2016-11-03 00:30:29.245',
	@OlderDateType DATETIME = '2016-11-03 00:30:29.245';

SELECT
	-- Fill in the missing function calls
	___(___ AS DATE) AS CubsWinDateForm,
	___(___ AS NVARCHAR(30)) AS CubsWinStringForm,
	___(___ AS DATE) AS OlderDateForm,
	___(___ AS NVARCHAR(30)) AS OlderStringForm;
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