What is the purpose of the SQL date_format function?

The DATE_FORMAT function in SQL is used to format a date or time value according to a specified format.

Its purpose is to convert date or time values into a specific format, making them easier to read and understand. This function takes two parameters: the date or time value to be formatted and the format string to be used. The format string may contain special format codes used to represent different parts of the date or time, such as year, month, day, hour, minute, second, etc.

For instance, you can utilize the DATE_FORMAT function to format a date as “YYYY-MM-DD” or format time as “HH:MM:SS”. Other format codes like “%d” for day, “%M” for full month name, and “%Y” for four-digit year can also be used.

Here is an example:

Format the date ‘2021-06-30’ as ‘YYYY-MM-DD’ and label it as ‘formatted_date’.

This will return the formatted date value: 2021-06-30.