TIME_FORMAT Option

Sets the format used for times retrieved from the database.

Allowed values

A string composed of the symbols HH, NN, MM, SS, separated by colons.

Default

'HH:NN:SS.SSS'

For Open Client and JDBC connections the default is also set to HH:NN:SS.SSS.

Scope

Option can be set at the database (PUBLIC) or user level. When set at the database level, the value becomes the default for any new user, but has no impact on existing users. When set at the user level, overrides the PUBLIC value for that user only. No system privilege is required to set option for self. System privilege is required to set at database level or at user level for any user other than self.

Requires the SET ANY PUBLIC OPTION system privilege to set this option. Can be set temporary for an individual connection or for the PUBLIC role. Takes effect immediately.

Remarks

The format is a string using these symbols:

hh – Two-digit hours (24 hour clock).
nn – Two-digit minutes.
mm – Two-digit minutes if following a colon (as in 'hh:mm').
ss[.s...s] – Two-digit seconds plus optional fraction.

Each symbol is substituted with the appropriate data for the date being formatted. Any format symbol that represents character rather than digit output can be in uppercase, which causes the substituted characters also to be in uppercase. For numbers, using mixed case in the format string suppresses leading zeros.

Multibyte characters are not supported in format strings. Only single-byte characters are allowed, even when the collation order of the database is a multibyte collation order like 932JPN.