How can you use STR_TO_DATE() and DATE_FORMAT() for converting and displaying date values?

Difficulty: 5/10

date parsing, date formatting, SQL functions

Using STR_TO_DATE() and DATE_FORMAT() in MySQL

MySQL provides two important functions for working with date strings: STR_TO_DATE() for converting strings into date values, and DATE_FORMAT() for converting date values into formatted strings.

1. STR_TO_DATE(): Convert String → Date

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Parses a string based on a specified format and returns a DATE, DATETIME, or TIME value.
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Useful when importing data where dates are stored as strings.
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Format specifiers (e.g., %d, %m, %Y) must match the input string.

STR_TO_DATE() Example

This converts the string '21-11-2025' into a proper DATE value: 2025-11-21.

How can you use STR_TO_DATE() and DATE_FORMAT() for converting and displaying date values?

Using STR_TO_DATE() and DATE_FORMAT() in MySQL

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