What Data Type Does Datepart Return?

//

Heather Bennett

When working with dates in SQL Server, the DATEPART function is commonly used to extract specific parts of a date, such as the year, month, or day. This function returns an integer value that represents the specified part of the date. Let’s take a closer look at what data type DATEPART returns and how it can be used.

Understanding DATEPART

The DATEPART function is used to extract a specified part of a date. It takes two arguments: the datepart to be extracted and the date from which to extract it. The syntax for using DATEPART is as follows:

DATEPART(datepart, date)

The datepart parameter specifies which part of the date you want to extract. This can be any of the following values:

  • year: Returns the year component of the date.
  • quarter: Returns the quarter component of the date.
  • month: Returns the month component of the date.
  • dayofyear: Returns the day of the year for the given date.
  • day: Returns the day component of the date.
  • week: Returns the week number for the given date.
  • wkday/wk/weekday: Returns an integer representing the day of week (1 for Sunday, 2 for Monday, etc.).
  • hour: Returns the hour component of the date.
  • minute: Returns the minute component of the date.
  • second: Returns the second component of the date.
  • millisecond/ms: Returns the millisecond component of the date.

Data Type Returned by DATEPART

The data type returned by DATEPART depends on the specific part being extracted. In most cases, it returns an integer value. However, there are a few exceptions:

  • year: Returns an integer value representing the year.
  • quarter: Returns an integer value representing the quarter of the year.
  • month: Returns an integer value representing the month of the year.
  • dayofyear: Returns an integer value representing the day of the year.
  • day: Returns an integer value representing the day of the month.
  • wkday/wk/weekday: Returns an integer value representing the day of week (1 for Sunday, 2 for Monday, etc. ).
  • hour: Returns an integer value representing the hour of the day.
  • minute: Returns an integer value representing the minute of the hour.
  • second: Returns an integer value representing the second of the minute.
  • Additionally, when extracting milliseconds using “MILLISECOND/MS/MILLISEC/MSEC/MS/MSSQL.MILLISECOND“, the DATEPART function returns a float value instead of an integer.

    It’s important to note that the data type returned by DATEPART may vary depending on the database system you are using. This article specifically focuses on SQL Server.

Using DATEPART in Queries

The DATEPART function is often used within queries to extract specific parts of a date for filtering or grouping purposes. Here’s an example that demonstrates how to use DATEPART:

SELECT
    column1,
    column2,
    ..
FROM
    table
WHERE
    DATEPART(year, date_column) = 2022
    AND DATEPART(month, date_column) = 12
    AND DATEPART(day, date_column) = 25
GROUP BY
    DATEPART(quarter, date_column)
ORDER BY
    DATEPART(week, date_column)
LIMIT 

In this example, we are selecting columns from a table and filtering the results based on specific parts of a date. We are using the DATEPART, along with other SQL clauses like WHERE, GROUP BY, and ORDER BY, to achieve our desired result.

In Conclusion:

The Datepart function returns different data types depending on the specific part being extracted from a date. Most commonly, it returns an integer value, but it can also return a float value when extracting milliseconds. It is an essential tool for working with dates in SQL Server and allows for efficient filtering and grouping of data based on specific parts of a date.