The following table provides the system default formats.
| Data Type | System Default Format |
|---|---|
| TIME TIME WITH TIME ZONE |
HH:MI:SS.S(F)Z Time zone information is displayed for TIME WITH TIME ZONE, but not for TIME. |
| TIMESTAMP TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE |
YYYY-MM-DDBHH:MI:SS.S(F)Z Time zone information is displayed for TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE, but not for TIMESTAMP. |
Before changing the default format, consider the effect on the following.
| Data-entry format | Changing the default formats changes the data entry format of TIME and TIMESTAMP data for new tables, but not for existing tables. To avoid data entry problems, however, you can enter all times and timestamps as ANSI TIME and TIMESTAMP literals. |
| Display format | Changing the default format changes the display of TIME and TIMESTAMP values in new tables, but not in existing tables, so values for new tables and old tables display differently. Because views are based on the underlying table, this is true for views of tables too. |
| Character-to-TIME and character-to-TIMESTAMP comparisons and conversions | To compare or convert strings to TIME or TIMESTAMP values, the strings must have the same format as the TIME or TIMESTAMP values. Such comparisons can fail after you change the default format, because the format changes for new tables, views of new tables, and existing macros. To avoid format errors in character-to-TIME and character-to-TIMESTAMP comparisons, however, you can specify times and timestamps as ANSI TIME and TIMESTAMP literals. |
| Format of TIME and TIMESTAMP values in macros being run | Changing the default format can change the format of TIME and TIMESTAMP values in macros, which can cause the macro to fail. |
Changing the default format does not change the TIME or TIMESTAMP format for the following:
- Tables created before the format change
- Tables created by users logged on
- Macros run by users logged on
- Views based on tables that were created before the change
Use HELP SESSION to view the values of the system default TIME and TIMESTAMP formats.