How Can I Extract Month and Year from a VARCHAR Date String in MySQL?

Converting VARCHAR to Date Format Using MySQL

In MySQL, it is essential to properly convert VARCHAR values representing dates to actual date formats. Understanding the nuances of date conversion functions is crucial to ensure accurate results. This article will guide you through the process of converting VARCHAR values to date formats while extracting only the month and year components.

To address the specific issue raised, the STR_TO_DATE function can effectively convert VARCHAR values to date formats. However, it's important to pay attention to the order of date components and the specified format mask. The following updated query:

SELECT DATE_FORMAT(STR_TO_DATE('1/9/2011', '%m/%d/%Y'), '%Y%m')

correctly converts the VARCHAR value '1/9/2011' to the desired format '201101'. The STR_TO_DATE function converts the given string to a date format, and DATE_FORMAT then extracts the year and month components using the '%Y%m' mask.

The above is the detailed content of How Can I Extract Month and Year from a VARCHAR Date String in MySQL?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!