Function Reference > Functions > DATE_DIFF
  

DATE_DIFF

Returns the length of time between two dates. You can request the format to be years, months, days, hours, minutes, or seconds. Data Integration subtracts the second date from the first date and returns the difference.

Syntax

DATE_DIFF( date1, date2, format )
Argument
Required/
Optional
Description
date1
Required
Date/Time datatype. Passes the values for the first date you want to compare. You can enter any valid expression.
date2
Required
Date/Time datatype. Passes the values for the second date you want to compare. You can enter any valid expression.
format
Required
Format string specifying the date or time measurement. You can specify years, months, days, hours, minutes, or seconds. You can specify only one part of the date, such as 'mm'. Enclose the format strings within single quotation marks. The format string is not case sensitive. For example, the format string 'mm' is the same as 'MM', 'Mm' or 'mM'.

Return Value

Double value. If date1 is later than date2, the return value is a positive number. If date1 is earlier than date2, the return value is a negative number.
0 if the dates are the same.
NULL if one (or both) of the date values is NULL.

Example

The following expressions return the number of hours between the DATE_PROMISED and DATE_SHIPPED columns:
DATE_DIFF( DATE_PROMISED, DATE_SHIPPED, 'HH' )
DATE_DIFF( DATE_PROMISED, DATE_SHIPPED, 'HH12' )
DATE_DIFF( DATE_PROMISED, DATE_SHIPPED, 'HH24' )
DATE_PROMISED
DATE_SHIPPED
RETURN VALUE
Jan 1 1997 12:00:00AM
Mar 29 1997 12:00:00PM
-2100
Mar 29 1997 12:00:00PM
Jan 1 1997 12:00:00AM
2100
NULL
Dec 10 1997 5:55:10PM
NULL
Dec 10 1997 5:55:10PM
NULL
NULL
Jun 3 1997 1:13:46PM
Aug 23 1996 4:20:16PM
6812.89166666667
Feb 19 2004 12:00:00PM
Feb 19 2005 12:00:00PM
-8784
The following expressions return the number of days between the DATE_PROMISED and the DATE_SHIPPED columns:
DATE_DIFF( DATE_PROMISED, DATE_SHIPPED, 'D' )
DATE_DIFF( DATE_PROMISED, DATE_SHIPPED, 'DD' )
DATE_DIFF( DATE_PROMISED, DATE_SHIPPED, 'DDD' )
DATE_DIFF( DATE_PROMISED, DATE_SHIPPED, 'DY' )
DATE_DIFF( DATE_PROMISED, DATE_SHIPPED, 'DAY' )
DATE_PROMISED
DATE_SHIPPED
RETURN VALUE
Jan 1 1997 12:00:00AM
Mar 29 1997 12:00:00PM
-87.5
Mar 29 1997 12:00:00PM
Jan 1 1997 12:00:00AM
87.5
NULL
Dec 10 1997 5:55:10PM
NULL
Dec 10 1997 5:55:10PM
NULL
NULL
Jun 3 1997 1:13:46PM
Aug 23 1996 4:20:16PM
283.870486111111
Feb 19 2004 12:00:00PM
Feb 19 2005 12:00:00PM
-366
The following expressions return the number of months between the DATE_PROMISED and DATE_SHIPPED columns:
DATE_DIFF( DATE_PROMISED, DATE_SHIPPED, 'MM' )
DATE_DIFF( DATE_PROMISED, DATE_SHIPPED, 'MON' )
DATE_DIFF( DATE_PROMISED, DATE_SHIPPED, 'MONTH' )
DATE_PROMISED
DATE_SHIPPED
RETURN VALUE
Jan 1 1997 12:00:00AM
Mar 29 1997 12:00:00PM
-2.91935483870968
Mar 29 1997 12:00:00PM
Jan 1 1997 12:00:00AM
2.91935483870968
NULL
Dec 10 1997 5:55:10PM
NULL
Dec 10 1997 5:55:10PM
NULL
NULL
Jun 3 1997 1:13:46PM
Aug 23 1996 4:20:16PM
9.3290162037037
Feb 19 2004 12:00:00PM
Feb 19 2005 12:00:00PM
-12
The following expressions return the number of years between the DATE_PROMISED and DATE_SHIPPED columns:
DATE_DIFF( DATE_PROMISED, DATE_SHIPPED, 'Y' )
DATE_DIFF( DATE_PROMISED, DATE_SHIPPED, 'YY' )
DATE_DIFF( DATE_PROMISED, DATE_SHIPPED, 'YYY' )
DATE_DIFF( DATE_PROMISED, DATE_SHIPPED, 'YYYY' )
DATE_PROMISED
DATE_SHIPPED
RETURN VALUE
Jan 1 1997 12:00:00AM
Mar 29 1997 12:00:00PM
-0.24327956989247
Mar 29 1997 12:00:00PM
Jan 1 1997 12:00:00AM
0.24327956989247
NULL
Dec 10 1997 5:55:10PM
NULL
Dec 10 1997 5:55:10PM
NULL
NULL
Jun 3 1997 1:13:46PM
Aug 23 1996 4:20:16PM
0.77741801697531
Feb 19 2004 12:00:00PM
Feb 19 2005 12:00:00PM
-1