Hello Sodi, Deepthika,
Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A and thank you for posting your questions here.
Problem
Sequel to your questions, I understand that you need to develop a stored procedure in Azure SQL to standardize datetime values stored as varchar columns with various date formats into a uniform format ('MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss'). This process should specifically target columns ending with 'DP'.
Scenario
Deepthi, who manages databases for a company using Azure SQL Database, has run into a problem with data consistency. The issue stems from datetime values stored as text in columns across the database, each using a different date format. To address this, Deepthi needs to devise a stored procedure that can standardise these varied formats into a single, consistent format ('MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss'). The focus of this procedure should be on columns specifically ending with 'DP'.
Solution
This solution will be based on the scenario given and your questions, while focusing on the problem statement.
Your question:
Can someone guide me on how to handle different date formats in Azure SQL and update the columns.
First to handle different date format.
CREATE PROCEDURE UpdateDateColumns
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE @DateFormat varchar(50) = 'MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss'; -- Desired date format
-- Update columns ending with 'DP' to consistent format
UPDATE YourTableName
SET YourDateColumn =
CASE
WHEN YourDateColumn LIKE '%/[0-9][0-9]/[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9] %' -- Check for date format like 'dd/MM/yyyy'
THEN CONVERT(varchar(50), TRY_CONVERT(datetime, YourDateColumn, 103), 121) -- Convert to desired format
WHEN YourDateColumn LIKE '%-[0-9][0-9]-[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9] %' -- Check for date format like 'yyyy-MM-dd'
THEN CONVERT(varchar(50), TRY_CONVERT(datetime, YourDateColumn, 120), 121) -- Convert to desired format
-- Add more conditions for other date formats as needed
ELSE YourDateColumn -- Leave unchanged if not recognized
END
WHERE YourDateColumn IS NOT NULL
AND YourDateColumn LIKE '%DP'; -- Update columns ending with 'DP'
END
The above code snippet covers common date formats and provides a structured approach to handle different scenarios, there might be some edge cases or specific formats that it doesn't cover perfectly.
Finally
To be more precise and cover some edge cases, especially by directly attempting to convert each varchar column value to datetime using TRY_CONVERT
within the CASE
statement. It checks for two common date formats (103 and 120) used in SQL Server and converts them to the desired format ('MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss').
CREATE PROCEDURE UpdateDateColumns
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE @DateFormat varchar(50) = 'MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss'; -- Desired date format
DECLARE @ColumnName varchar(100); -- Variable to store column name
-- Cursor to iterate through identified columns
DECLARE column_cursor CURSOR FOR
SELECT COLUMN_NAME
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS
WHERE TABLE_NAME = 'YourTableName' -- Replace with your table name
AND DATA_TYPE = 'varchar'
AND COLUMN_NAME LIKE '%DP';
OPEN column_cursor;
FETCH NEXT FROM column_cursor INTO @ColumnName;
-- Loop through columns and update datetime values
WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
EXEC('
UPDATE YourTableName
SET ' + @ColumnName + ' =
CASE
WHEN TRY_CONVERT(datetime, ' + @ColumnName + ', 103) IS NOT NULL
THEN CONVERT(varchar(50), TRY_CONVERT(datetime, ' + @ColumnName + ', 103), 121)
WHEN TRY_CONVERT(datetime, ' + @ColumnName + ', 120) IS NOT NULL
THEN CONVERT(varchar(50), TRY_CONVERT(datetime, ' + @ColumnName + ', 120), 121)
ELSE ' + @ColumnName + '
END
WHERE ' + @ColumnName + ' IS NOT NULL
');
FETCH NEXT FROM column_cursor INTO @ColumnName;
END;
CLOSE column_cursor;
DEALLOCATE column_cursor;
END;
References
For more reading and review, kindly utilize the additional reading available by the right side of this page. Especially,
- S2SS0092: The conversion for provided date format is not supported (Error) - SQL Server Describes why SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) for Sybase does not convert a call to CONVERT function with specified style argument.
- Convert date format with datatype
Source: Microsoft Learn, access 4/27/2024.
and
mssql-scripter app.
Accept Answer
I hope this is helpful! Do not hesitate to let me know if you have any other questions.
** Please don't forget to close up the thread here by upvoting and accept it as an answer if it is helpful ** so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution.
Best Regards,
Sina Salam