In SQL Server, I have imported a csv using Imprt Flat file option. The file contains string columns which got converted into nvarchar(50) datatype.
The csv contains date values.
I need to load this data containing the date columns (in format 12/16/2020 19:09:58) to 2020-12-16 19:09:58.000 .
I tried using the below way using convert.
select convert(datetime, delta_val, 101) from dbo.my_table;
But getting the below error
Conversion failed when converting date and/or time from character string.
Is there any way to resolve this issue? have tried using cast and format methods as well. Same issue persists.
As suggested by HoneyBadger, used try_convert. Working now.
select try_convert(datetime, delta_val) from dbo.my_table;
Related
I'm using SQL Server 2014. I have a date stored as varchar(MAX) in the format of:
2019-02-18
However, I want it in the British format dd/mm/yyyy (103).
This is my SQL:
SELECT CONVERT(DATE, DateField, 103) AS "JobStartDate"
FROM tblTest
However, I keep getting this error:
Conversion failed when converting date and/or time from character string.
What am I missing?
Update: The date is initially stored as varchar max as it is coming from a 3rd party system. I have no control over this and I completly understand this is the wrong format, but this is what I have been given.
I have a date stored as varchar(MAX)
There's your problem right there.
Not only you are using the wrong data type to store dates, you are also using max which is a known performance killer.
The solution to the problem is to alter the table and store dates in a Date data type - but first, you must look up all the objects that depends on that column and make sure they will not break or change them as well.
Assuming this can't be done, or as a temporary workaround, you must first convert the data you have to Date, and then convert it back to a string representation of that date using the 103 style to get dd/mm/yyyy.
Since yyyy-mm-dd string format is not culture dependent with the date data type, you can simply do this:
SELECT CONVERT(char(10), TRY_CAST(DateField As Date), 103) As [JobStartDate]
FROM tblTest
Note I've used try_cast and not cast since the database can't stop you from storing values that can't be converted to dates in that column.
You want to format the DateField column and not convert it to date.
So first convert it to DATE and then apply the format:
SELECT FORMAT(CONVERT(DATE, DateField, 21), 'dd/MM/yyyy') AS JobStartDate
See the demo.
I am a SQL student who has been tasked with loading data into SQL Server for a company that I intern with.
I have tried loading multiple flat files with dates formatted as 1/23/04 into SSMS and when going through the wizard the dates preview correctly. Once they're loaded into the actual database and a select query is performed, all dates return as 2023-01-04 format.
I'm not sure where to even begin to fix this. I've loaded columns as nvarchar(50) as opposed to date, datetime, and datetime2 to see if it would make a difference, and each case returns the same format. Is this a setting in the flat file, SSMS, or the computer itself?
In SSIS bring in the column (with the dates) as a string and add a derived column transform that will transform the column (using the substring function) to the correct date. SQL Server loves seeing dates as YYYY-MM-DD so that is why without explicitly telling it how to read the string it defaults to thinking that the inputted date is of that format.
If you are using SQL Server (SSMS) you should input it as a string (char(8)) and then use cast or convert functions to change the string into a date. You can then issue a 'Alter table drop column' to drop the string version column of the date.
I'm loading many files into a SQL SERVER database. I have one flat file that has a Date Column coming in as string[DT_STR].
I have TWO "date fields" in my database. One is varchar, one is datetime.
Converting the datetime column is no issue, I just use Data Conversion/Derived Column if necessary. However, this varchar column is giving me trouble. Our database values for this column should be in yyyymmdd format. However, on this single file the format of the dates change.
Normally I'd do a SUBSTRING(...) expression here, but the difficulty is that the format of these dates change. some examples of values could be
08/16/2017
8/16/2017
08/6/2017
08/06/2017
10/6/2017
10/06/2017
This makes the challenge harder. I tried LEN([DATE]) == NUM_HERE ? do_THING : OTHER_CALC, but this approach failed because the length of 10/6/2017 is the same as 8/06/2017 which will give me the wrong result. Does anyone have a good workaround for this?
Perhaps a simple convert to date and then into the final format. If 2012+, use try_convert() to trap any bogus dates.
Example
Declare #YourTable Table ([SomeCol] varchar(50))
Insert Into #YourTable Values
('08/16/2017')
,('8/16/2017')
,('08/6/2017')
,('08/06/2017')
,('10/6/2017')
,('10/06/2017')
Select *
,Formatted = convert(varchar(8),convert(Date,SomeCol),112)
from #YourTable
Returns
SomeCol Formatted
08/16/2017 20170816
8/16/2017 20170816
08/6/2017 20170806
08/06/2017 20170806
10/6/2017 20171006
10/06/2017 20171006
Convert the varchar data to datetime and convert that to a formatted string
SELECT CONVERT(varchar,(CONVERT(datetime, '8/6/2017')),112)
I had to restore a table that contained a datetime column.
I used bulk insert to insert the data from a CSV file. However the import couldn't insert the datetime values because SQL server saw it as a different format.
I ended up modifying the table, removing the datetime data type and replacing it with a varchar.
The issue is the data got converted from this format: 7/15/2015 3:41:57 PM to something like this: 47:47.0
Is there a way I can convert these values back or is the data lost?
As #ChrisSteele mentioned, your data is hosed. It likely got this way by Excel's cool feature to convert datetime strings to integers. Try re-saving the original file in notepad, or changing the format of the column from Date/Datetime to Text if you're using Excel.
I'm using Mono 2.10.8.1 on Ubuntu 12.04 Server.
I'm using an ADO.net TableAdapter to grab data from SQL Server 2008. When I encounter a Date column, Mono gives the following error:
No mapping exists from SqlDbType Date to a known DbType.
I'm not entirely sure what Mono uses for DB access (FreeTDS/etc) so I'm not 100% sure where to even start my search for a solution.
An obvious solution would be to simply change the column in the DB to DateTime, but since it is in production I do not have that option.
Has anybody else encountered this error before?
Thanks
In your TableAdapter SQL statement, try casting or converting the field being returned as a date to a datetime or, if necessary, to a varchar field with the necessary formatting. You can achieve this by doing the following:
Select field1
, field2
, CAST(date_field as datetime) as New_datetime_field
, CONVERT(varchar(10),date_field,101) as New_varchar_field --stored as MM/DD/YYYY string
From Table
Doing this will now cause the field returned by the query or stored procedure to be recognized as SQL as a datetime or varchar field. It should then be passed on using the TableAdapter as a datetime or varchar field. Using the convert statement, you can convert a date into any number of formats (see here for more information).