Parent topic: Formatting directives
C-Extensions / Formatting directives

Datetime formatting mask

A datetime formatting mask specifies a format to apply to some datetime value. This mask is a combination of the following formatting directives:

Table 1. Date-related DATETIME formatting mask directives
Directive Description
%a Identifies abbreviated weekday name as defined in locale.
%A Identifies full weekday name as defined in locale.
%b Identifies abbreviated month name as defined in locale.
%B Identifies full month name as defined in locale.
%C Identifies century number (year divided by 100 and truncated to an integer)
%d Identifies the day of the month (01 to 31). Single digit is preceded by zero.
%D Identifies commonly used date format (%m/%d/%y).
%e Identifies the day of the month as a number (1 to 31). Single digit is preceded by space.
%h Same as %b.
%iy Identifies the year as a 2-digit number (00 to 99).
%iY Identifies the year as a 4-digit number (0000 to 9999).
%m Identifies the month as a number (01 to 12). Single digit is preceded by zero.
%w Identifies the weekday as a number (0 to 6), where 0 is the locale equivalent of Sunday.
%x Identifies a special date representation that the locale defines.
%y Identifies the year as a 2-digit number (00 to 99).
%Y Identifies the year as a 4-digit number (0000 to 9999).
Table 2. Time-related DATETIME formatting mask directives
Directive Description
%c Identifies special date/time representation that locale defines.
%Fn

Identifies value of the fraction of a second, with precision specified by integer n. Range of n is 0 to 5.

The %Fn directive includes the dot character: For example, if you want to specify a format a time value as 23:35:17.9123, you must use %H:%M:%S%F4
%H Identifies the hour as 24-hour clock integer (00-23).
%I Identifies the hour as 12-hour clock integer (00-12).
%M Identifies the minute as an integer (00-59).
%p Identifies AM or PM equivalent as defined in locale.
%r Identifies commonly used time representation for a 12-hour clock.
%R Identifies commonly used time representation for a 24-hour clock (%H:%M).
%S Identifies the second as an integer (00-61). Second can be up to 61 instead of 59 to allow for the occasional leap second and double leap second.
%T Identifies commonly used time format (%H:%M:%S).
%X Identifies commonly used time representation as defined in the locale.
Table 3. Special DATETIME formatting mask directives
Directive Description
%% Identifies the % character.
%n Identifies a newline character.
%t Identifies a TAB character.

Any other characters in the formatting mask are reproduced literally in the result.

Parent topic: Formatting directives