How Can I Precisely Convert Strings to DateTime in SQL Server?

Converting Strings to Datetime in SQL Server with Precision

While converting an arbitrary string to datetime is a common task, this specific question focuses on the syntax for updating a datetime field using a date string with specific formatting. To address this query, we turn to the versatile CONVERT function in SQL Server.

The CONVERT function allows you to transform values from one data type to another. For datetime conversion, the syntax is:

CONVERT(datetime, date_string, style)

where:

• datetime is the desired datetime data type for the result
• date_string is the string representation of the date to be converted
• style is an optional parameter that specifies the format of the date string

In the example provided, the date string is formatted in the "yyyy/mm/dd hh:mm:ss" format, which is represented by the style parameter value of 120.

To apply this knowledge, let's consider the following query:

UPDATE MyTable SET MyDate = CONVERT(datetime, '2009/07/16 08:28:01', 120)

This query updates the MyDate field in the MyTable table with the datetime value derived from the specified date string, adhering to the "yyyy/mm/dd hh:mm:ss" format.

For further details on CAST and CONVERT, including the various date formatting options available, refer to the provided MSDN Library link:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/functions/cast-and-convert-transact-sql

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