Date functions in GoogleSQL Stay organized with collections Save and categorize content based on your preferences.
GoogleSQL for Spanner supports the following date functions.
Function list
| Name | Summary |
|---|---|
ADDDATE | Alias forDATE_ADD. |
CURRENT_DATE | Returns the current date as aDATE value. |
DATE | Constructs aDATE value. |
DATE_ADD | Adds a specified time interval to aDATE value. |
DATE_DIFF | Gets the number of unit boundaries between twoDATE values at a particular time granularity. |
DATE_FROM_UNIX_DATE | Interprets anINT64 expression as the number of days since 1970-01-01. |
DATE_SUB | Subtracts a specified time interval from aDATE value. |
DATE_TRUNC | Truncates aDATE value at a particular granularity. |
EXTRACT | Extracts part of a date from aDATE value. |
FORMAT_DATE | Formats aDATE value according to a specified format string. |
GENERATE_DATE_ARRAY | Generates an array of dates in a range. For more information, seeArray functions. |
PARSE_DATE | Converts aSTRING value to aDATE value. |
SUBDATE | Alias forDATE_SUB. |
UNIX_DATE | Converts aDATE value to the number of days since 1970-01-01. |
ADDDATE
ADDDATE(date_expression,INTERVALint64_expressiondate_part)Alias forDATE_ADD.
CURRENT_DATE
CURRENT_DATE()CURRENT_DATE(time_zone_expression)CURRENT_DATEDescription
Returns the current date as aDATE object. Parentheses are optional whencalled with no arguments.
This function supports the following arguments:
time_zone_expression: ASTRINGexpression that represents atime zone. If no time zone is specified, thedefault time zone, America/Los_Angeles, is used. If this expression isused and it evaluates toNULL, this function returnsNULL.
The current date value is set at the start of the query statement that containsthis function. All invocations ofCURRENT_DATE() within a query statementyield the same value.
Return Data Type
DATE
Examples
The following query produces the current date in the default time zone:
SELECTCURRENT_DATE()ASthe_date;/*--------------+ | the_date | +--------------+ | 2016-12-25 | +--------------*/The following queries produce the current date in a specified time zone:
SELECTCURRENT_DATE('America/Los_Angeles')ASthe_date;/*--------------+ | the_date | +--------------+ | 2016-12-25 | +--------------*/SELECTCURRENT_DATE('-08')ASthe_date;/*--------------+ | the_date | +--------------+ | 2016-12-25 | +--------------*/The following query produces the current date in the default time zone.Parentheses aren't needed if the function has no arguments.
SELECTCURRENT_DATEASthe_date;/*--------------+ | the_date | +--------------+ | 2016-12-25 | +--------------*/DATE
DATE(year,month,day)DATE(timestamp_expression)DATE(timestamp_expression,time_zone_expression)Description
Constructs or extracts a date.
This function supports the following arguments:
year: TheINT64value for year.month: TheINT64value for month.day: TheINT64value for day.timestamp_expression: ATIMESTAMPexpression that contains the date.time_zone_expression: ASTRINGexpression that represents atime zone. If no time zone is specified withtimestamp_expression, the default time zone, America/Los_Angeles, isused.
Return Data Type
DATE
Example
SELECTDATE(2016,12,25)ASdate_ymd,DATE(TIMESTAMP'2016-12-25 05:30:00+07','America/Los_Angeles')ASdate_tstz;/*------------+------------+ | date_ymd | date_tstz | +------------+------------+ | 2016-12-25 | 2016-12-24 | +------------+------------*/DATE_ADD
DATE_ADD(date_expression,INTERVALint64_expressiondate_part)Description
Adds a specified time interval to a DATE.
DATE_ADD supports the followingdate_part values:
DAYWEEK. Equivalent to 7DAYs.MONTHQUARTERYEAR
Special handling is required for MONTH, QUARTER, and YEAR parts whenthe date is at (or near) the last day of the month. If the resultingmonth has fewer days than the original date's day, then the resultingdate is the last date of that month.
Return Data Type
DATE
Example
SELECTDATE_ADD(DATE'2008-12-25',INTERVAL5DAY)ASfive_days_later;/*--------------------+ | five_days_later | +--------------------+ | 2008-12-30 | +--------------------*/DATE_DIFF
DATE_DIFF(end_date,start_date,granularity)Description
Gets the number of unit boundaries between twoDATE values (end_date -start_date) at a particular time granularity.
Definitions
start_date: The startingDATEvalue.end_date: The endingDATEvalue.granularity: The date part that represents the granularity. This can be:DAYWEEKThis date part begins on Sunday.ISOWEEK: UsesISO 8601 week boundaries. ISO weeksbegin on Monday.MONTHQUARTERYEARISOYEAR: Uses theISO 8601 week-numbering year boundary.The ISO year boundary is the Monday of the first week whose Thursdaybelongs to the corresponding Gregorian calendar year.
Details
Ifend_date is earlier thanstart_date, the output is negative.
Return Data Type
INT64
Example
SELECTDATE_DIFF(DATE'2010-07-07',DATE'2008-12-25',DAY)ASdays_diff;/*-----------+ | days_diff | +-----------+ | 559 | +-----------*/SELECTDATE_DIFF(DATE'2017-10-15',DATE'2017-10-14',DAY)ASdays_diff,DATE_DIFF(DATE'2017-10-15',DATE'2017-10-14',WEEK)ASweeks_diff;/*-----------+------------+ | days_diff | weeks_diff | +-----------+------------+ | 1 | 1 | +-----------+------------*/The example above shows the result ofDATE_DIFF for two days in succession.DATE_DIFF with the date partWEEK returns 1 becauseDATE_DIFF counts thenumber of date part boundaries in this range of dates. EachWEEK begins onSunday, so there is one date part boundary between Saturday, 2017-10-14and Sunday, 2017-10-15.
The following example shows the result ofDATE_DIFF for two dates in differentyears.DATE_DIFF with the date partYEAR returns 3 because it counts thenumber of Gregorian calendar year boundaries between the two dates.DATE_DIFFwith the date partISOYEAR returns 2 because the second date belongs to theISO year 2015. The first Thursday of the 2015 calendar year was 2015-01-01, sothe ISO year 2015 begins on the preceding Monday, 2014-12-29.
SELECTDATE_DIFF('2017-12-30','2014-12-30',YEAR)ASyear_diff,DATE_DIFF('2017-12-30','2014-12-30',ISOYEAR)ASisoyear_diff;/*-----------+--------------+ | year_diff | isoyear_diff | +-----------+--------------+ | 3 | 2 | +-----------+--------------*/The following example shows the result ofDATE_DIFF for two days insuccession. The first date falls on a Monday and the second date falls on aSunday.DATE_DIFF with the date partWEEK returns 0 because this date partuses weeks that begin on Sunday.DATE_DIFF with the date partISOWEEKreturns 1 because ISO weeks begin on Monday.
SELECTDATE_DIFF('2017-12-18','2017-12-17',WEEK)ASweek_diff,DATE_DIFF('2017-12-18','2017-12-17',ISOWEEK)ASisoweek_diff;/*-----------+--------------+ | week_diff | isoweek_diff | +-----------+--------------+ | 0 | 1 | +-----------+--------------*/DATE_FROM_UNIX_DATE
DATE_FROM_UNIX_DATE(int64_expression)Description
Interpretsint64_expression as the number of days since 1970-01-01.
Return Data Type
DATE
Example
SELECTDATE_FROM_UNIX_DATE(14238)ASdate_from_epoch;/*-----------------+ | date_from_epoch | +-----------------+ | 2008-12-25 | +-----------------+*/DATE_SUB
DATE_SUB(date_expression,INTERVALint64_expressiondate_part)Description
Subtracts a specified time interval from a DATE.
DATE_SUB supports the followingdate_part values:
DAYWEEK. Equivalent to 7DAYs.MONTHQUARTERYEAR
Special handling is required for MONTH, QUARTER, and YEAR parts whenthe date is at (or near) the last day of the month. If the resultingmonth has fewer days than the original date's day, then the resultingdate is the last date of that month.
Return Data Type
DATE
Example
SELECTDATE_SUB(DATE'2008-12-25',INTERVAL5DAY)ASfive_days_ago;/*---------------+ | five_days_ago | +---------------+ | 2008-12-20 | +---------------*/DATE_TRUNC
DATE_TRUNC(date_value,date_granularity)Description
Truncates aDATE value at a particular granularity.
Definitions
date_value: ADATEvalue to truncate.date_granularity: The truncation granularity for aDATEvalue.Date granularities can be used.
Date granularity definitions
DAY: The day in the Gregorian calendar year that contains thevalue to truncate.WEEK: The first day in the week that contains thevalue to truncate. Weeks begin on Sundays.WEEKis equivalent toWEEK(SUNDAY).ISOWEEK: The first day in theISO 8601 week that containsthe value to truncate. The ISO week begins onMonday. The first ISO week of each ISO year contains the first Thursday of thecorresponding Gregorian calendar year.MONTH: The first day in the month that contains thevalue to truncate.QUARTER: The first day in the quarter that contains thevalue to truncate.YEAR: The first day in the year that contains thevalue to truncate.ISOYEAR: The first day in theISO 8601 week-numbering yearthat contains the value to truncate. The ISO year is theMonday of the first week where Thursday belongs to the correspondingGregorian calendar year.
Details
The resulting value is always rounded to the beginning ofgranularity.
Return Data Type
DATE
Examples
SELECTDATE_TRUNC(DATE'2008-12-25',MONTH)ASmonth;/*------------+ | month | +------------+ | 2008-12-01 | +------------*/In the following example, the originaldate_expression is in the Gregoriancalendar year 2015. However,DATE_TRUNC with theISOYEAR date parttruncates thedate_expression to the beginning of the ISO year, not theGregorian calendar year. The first Thursday of the 2015 calendar year was2015-01-01, so the ISO year 2015 begins on the preceding Monday, 2014-12-29.Therefore the ISO year boundary preceding thedate_expression 2015-06-15 is2014-12-29.
SELECTDATE_TRUNC('2015-06-15',ISOYEAR)ASisoyear_boundary,EXTRACT(ISOYEARFROMDATE'2015-06-15')ASisoyear_number;/*------------------+----------------+ | isoyear_boundary | isoyear_number | +------------------+----------------+ | 2014-12-29 | 2015 | +------------------+----------------*/EXTRACT
EXTRACT(partFROMdate_expression)Description
Returns the value corresponding to the specified date part. Thepart mustbe one of:
DAYOFWEEK: Returns values in the range [1,7] with Sunday as the first dayof the week.DAYDAYOFYEARWEEK: Returns the week number of the date in the range [0, 53]. Weeks beginwith Sunday, and dates prior to the first Sunday of the year are in week0.ISOWEEK: Returns theISO 8601 weeknumber of thedate_expression.ISOWEEKs begin on Monday. Return valuesare in the range [1, 53]. The firstISOWEEKof each ISO year begins on theMonday before the first Thursday of the Gregorian calendar year.MONTHQUARTER: Returns values in the range [1,4].YEARISOYEAR: Returns theISO 8601week-numbering year, which is the Gregorian calendar year containing theThursday of the week to whichdate_expressionbelongs.
Return Data Type
INT64
Examples
In the following example,EXTRACT returns a value corresponding to theDAYdate part.
SELECTEXTRACT(DAYFROMDATE'2013-12-25')ASthe_day;/*---------+ | the_day | +---------+ | 25 | +---------*/In the following example,EXTRACT returns values corresponding to differentdate parts from a column of dates near the end of the year.
SELECTdate,EXTRACT(ISOYEARFROMdate)ASisoyear,EXTRACT(ISOWEEK FROMdate)ASisoweek,EXTRACT(YEARFROMdate)ASyear,EXTRACT(WEEKFROMdate)ASweekFROMUNNEST(GENERATE_DATE_ARRAY('2015-12-23','2016-01-09'))ASdateORDERBYdate;/*------------+---------+---------+------+------+ | date | isoyear | isoweek | year | week | +------------+---------+---------+------+------+ | 2015-12-23 | 2015 | 52 | 2015 | 51 | | 2015-12-24 | 2015 | 52 | 2015 | 51 | | 2015-12-25 | 2015 | 52 | 2015 | 51 | | 2015-12-26 | 2015 | 52 | 2015 | 51 | | 2015-12-27 | 2015 | 52 | 2015 | 52 | | 2015-12-28 | 2015 | 53 | 2015 | 52 | | 2015-12-29 | 2015 | 53 | 2015 | 52 | | 2015-12-30 | 2015 | 53 | 2015 | 52 | | 2015-12-31 | 2015 | 53 | 2015 | 52 | | 2016-01-01 | 2015 | 53 | 2016 | 0 | | 2016-01-02 | 2015 | 53 | 2016 | 0 | | 2016-01-03 | 2015 | 53 | 2016 | 1 | | 2016-01-04 | 2016 | 1 | 2016 | 1 | | 2016-01-05 | 2016 | 1 | 2016 | 1 | | 2016-01-06 | 2016 | 1 | 2016 | 1 | | 2016-01-07 | 2016 | 1 | 2016 | 1 | | 2016-01-08 | 2016 | 1 | 2016 | 1 | | 2016-01-09 | 2016 | 1 | 2016 | 1 | +------------+---------+---------+------+------*/FORMAT_DATE
FORMAT_DATE(format_string,date_expr)Description
Formats aDATE value according to a specified format string.
Definitions
format_string: ASTRINGvalue that contains theformat elements to use withdate_expr.date_expr: ADATEvalue that represents the date to format.
Return Data Type
STRING
Examples
SELECTFORMAT_DATE('%x',DATE'2008-12-25')ASUS_format;/*------------+ | US_format | +------------+ | 12/25/08 | +------------*/SELECTFORMAT_DATE('%b-%d-%Y',DATE'2008-12-25')ASformatted;/*-------------+ | formatted | +-------------+ | Dec-25-2008 | +-------------*/SELECTFORMAT_DATE('%b %Y',DATE'2008-12-25')ASformatted;/*-------------+ | formatted | +-------------+ | Dec 2008 | +-------------*/PARSE_DATE
PARSE_DATE(format_string,date_string)Description
Converts aSTRING value to aDATE value.
Definitions
format_string: ASTRINGvalue that contains theformat elements to use withdate_string.date_string: ASTRINGvalue that represents the date to parse.
Details
Each element indate_string must have a corresponding element informat_string. The location of each element informat_string must match thelocation of each element indate_string.
-- This works because elements on both sides match.SELECTPARSE_DATE('%A %b %e %Y','Thursday Dec 25 2008');-- This produces an error because the year element is in different locations.SELECTPARSE_DATE('%Y %A %b %e','Thursday Dec 25 2008');-- This produces an error because one of the year elements is missing.SELECTPARSE_DATE('%A %b %e','Thursday Dec 25 2008');-- This works because %F can find all matching elements in date_string.SELECTPARSE_DATE('%F','2000-12-30');The format string fully supports most format elements except for%g,%G,%j,%u,%U,%V,%w, and%W.
The following additional considerations apply when using thePARSE_DATEfunction:
- Unspecified fields. Any unspecified field is initialized from
1970-01-01. - Case insensitivity. Names, such as
Monday,February, and so on, arecase insensitive. - Whitespace. One or more consecutive white spaces in the format stringmatches zero or more consecutive white spaces in the date string. Inaddition, leading and trailing white spaces in the date string are alwaysallowed, even if they aren't in the format string.
- Format precedence. When two (or more) format elements have overlappinginformation (for example both
%Fand%Yaffect the year), the last onegenerally overrides any earlier ones.
Return Data Type
DATE
Examples
This example converts aMM/DD/YY formatted string to aDATE object:
SELECTPARSE_DATE('%x','12/25/08')ASparsed;/*------------+ | parsed | +------------+ | 2008-12-25 | +------------*/This example converts aYYYYMMDD formatted string to aDATE object:
SELECTPARSE_DATE('%Y%m%d','20081225')ASparsed;/*------------+ | parsed | +------------+ | 2008-12-25 | +------------*/SUBDATE
SUBDATE(date_expression,INTERVALint64_expressiondate_part)Alias forDATE_SUB.
UNIX_DATE
UNIX_DATE(date_expression)Description
Returns the number of days since1970-01-01.
Return Data Type
INT64
Example
SELECTUNIX_DATE(DATE'2008-12-25')ASdays_from_epoch;/*-----------------+ | days_from_epoch | +-----------------+ | 14238 | +-----------------*/Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under theCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under theApache 2.0 License. For details, see theGoogle Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-12-15 UTC.