Teradata SQL uses a set of default formats for displaying expressions and column data, and for conversions between data types.
For example, Vantage assigns a format to every column of a table at the time the table is created. If the CREATE TABLE statement omits the format for a column, then Vantage assigns a default format for the data type of the column.
You can override the default format by using the FORMAT phrase in conjunction with a CREATE TABLE, ALTER TABLE, SELECT, UPDATE, DELETE, MERGE, or INSERT statement. For more information, see FORMAT.
You can change the default formats that Teradata SQL uses to display numeric, date, and time data types. For details, see Changing the Default Formats.
You can also use the FORMAT phrase with CAST or with Teradata conversion syntax to convert data from one type to another. For more information, see Examples.