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DATE data type

This topic describes the Firebolt implementation of the DATE data type.

Overview

Name Size Min Max Resolution
DATE 4 bytes 0001-01-01 9999-12-31 1 day

The DATE type represents a calendar date, independent of a time zone.

Literal string interpretation

DATE literals follow the ISO 8601 format: YYYY-[M]M-[D]D.

  • YYYY: Four-digit year (0001 - 9999)
  • [M]M: One or two digit month (01 - 12)
  • [D]D: One or two digit day (01 - 31)

Examples

SELECT DATE '2023-02-13';
SELECT '2023-02-13'::DATE;
SELECT CAST('2023-6-03' AS DATE);

Functions and operators

Type conversions

The DATE data type can be cast to and from types as follows:

To DATE

From type Example Note
TEXT SELECT CAST(TEXT '2023-02-13' as DATE); --> 2023-02-13 Interprets the text according to the literal string format.
TIMESTAMP SELECT CAST(TIMESTAMP '2023-02-13 11:19:42' as DATE); --> 2023-02-13 Truncates the timestamp to the date.
TIMESTAMPTZ SELECT CAST(TIMESTAMPTZ '2023-02-13 Europe/Berlin' as DATE); --> 2023-02-13 Converts the timestamptz to local time in the time zone specified by the session’s time_zone setting, then truncates the timestamp to the date. This example assumes SET time_zone = 'UTC';.

From DATE

To type Example Note
TEXT SELECT CAST(DATE '2023-02-13' as TEXT); --> 2023-02-13 Converts the date to text in the format YYYY-MM-DD.
TIMESTAMP SELECT CAST(DATE '2023-02-13' as TIMESTAMP); --> 2023-02-1 00:00:00 Extends the date with 00:00:00.
TIMESTAMPTZ SELECT CAST(DATE '2023-02-13' as TIMESTAMPTZ); --> 2023-02-13 Interprets the date as midnight in the time zone specified by the session’s time_zone setting. This example assumes SET time_zone = 'UTC';.

Comparison operators

Operator Description
DATE < DATE Less than
DATE > DATE Greater than
DATE <= DATE Less than or equal to
DATE >= DATE Greater than or equal to
DATE = DATE Equal to
DATE <> DATE Not equal to

A DATE value is also comparable with a TIMESTAMP or TIMESTAMPTZ value:

  • The DATE value is cast to the TIMESTAMP type for comparison with a TIMESTAMP value.
  • The DATE value is cast to the TIMESTAMPTZ type for comparison with a TIMESTAMPTZ value.

Arithmetic operators

The + operators described below come in commutative pairs:

Operator Description Example
DATE + INTEGER -> DATE Add a number of days to a date SELECT DATE '2023-03-03' + 42; --> 2023-04-14
DATE - INTEGER -> DATE Subtract a number of days from a date SELECT DATE '2023-03-03' - 42; --> 2023-01-20
DATE - DATE -> INTEGER Subtract dates, producing the number of elapsed days SELECT DATE '2023-03-03' - DATE '1996-09-03'; --> 9677
DATE + INTERVAL -> TIMESTAMP Add an interval to a date SELECT DATE '1996-09-03' + INTERVAL '42' YEAR; --> 2038-09-03 00:00:00
DATE - INTERVAL -> TIMESTAMP Subtract an interval from a date SELECT DATE '2023-03-18' - INTERVAL '26 years 5 months 44 days 12 hours 41 minutes'; --> 1996-09-03 11:19:00

Interval arithmetic

Arithmetic with intervals can be used to add or subtract a duration to or from a date. The result is of type TIMESTAMP.

Example

SELECT DATE '1996-09-03' + INTERVAL '42' YEAR;  --> 2038-09-03 00:00:00
SELECT DATE '2023-03-18' - INTERVAL '26 years 5 months 44 days 12 hours 41 minutes';  --> 1996-09-03 11:19:00

For more information, see Arithmetic with intervals.

Serialization and deserialization

Text, CSV, JSON

In the text, CSV, and JSON format, a DATE value is output as a YYYY-MM-DD string. Input is accepted in the literal format described above: YYYY-[M]M-[D]D.

Parquet

DATE maps to Parquet’s 32-bit signed integer DATE type, also representing the number of days before or after 1970-01-01.

Avro

DATE maps to Avro’s 32-bit signed integer DATE type, also representing the number of days before or after 1970-01-01.

ORC

DATE maps to ORC’s signed integer DATE type, also representing the number of days before or after 1970-01-01.