Data Engineering Associate with Databricks Practice Exam

What SQL function is used for formatting dates?

1. DATE_FORMAT()

2. FORMAT_DATE()

3. EXTRACT_DATE()

4. REGEXP_REPLACE()

The correct answer is: DATE_FORMAT()

The function used for formatting dates in SQL is DATE_FORMAT(). This function allows users to convert date and time objects into a specific string format, which can be particularly useful for displaying dates in a user-friendly way or organizing them in a specific format for reports or analysis. DATE_FORMAT() accepts two arguments: the date to be formatted and a format string that specifies how the date should be represented. The format string can include various specifiers to represent different components of the date, such as year, month, day, hour, and minute, making it versatile for different formatting requirements. While FORMAT_DATE() might seem relevant, it is not a standard SQL function. Similarly, EXTRACT_DATE() is not typically found in SQL for formatting dates but rather might refer to extracting parts of a date, such as year or month. REGEXP_REPLACE() is primarily used for pattern matching and replacement in strings and does not function in the context of date formatting. Therefore, DATE_FORMAT() is the correct choice for formatting dates in SQL.