Syntax

trunc_date::=

Purpose

The TRUNC (date) function returns date with the time portion of the day truncated to the unit specified by the format model fmt. This function is not sensitive to the NLS_CALENDAR session parameter. It operates according to the rules of the Gregorian calendar. The value returned is always of data type DATE, even if you specify a different datetime data type for date. If you omit fmt, then the default format model 'DD' is used and the value returned is date truncated to the day with a time of midnight. Refer to "ROUND and TRUNC Date Functions" for the permitted format models to use in fmt.

Examples

The following example truncates a date:

SELECT TRUNC(TO_DATE('27-OCT-92','DD-MON-YY'), 'YEAR')
  "New Year" FROM DUAL;
 
New Year
---------
01-JAN-92 

Formatting Dates using TRUNC: Examples

In the following example, the TRUNC function returns the input date with the time portion of the day truncated as specified in the format model:

WITH dates AS (   
  SELECT date'2015-01-01' d FROM dual union   
  SELECT date'2015-01-10' d FROM dual union   
  SELECT date'2015-02-01' d FROM dual union   
  SELECT timestamp'2015-03-03 23:45:00' d FROM dual union   
  SELECT timestamp'2015-04-11 12:34:56' d FROM dual    
)   
SELECT d "Original Date",   
       trunc(d) "Nearest Day, Time Removed",   
       trunc(d, 'ww') "Nearest Week", 
       trunc(d, 'iw') "Start of Week",   
       trunc(d, 'mm') "Start of Month",   
       trunc(d, 'year') "Start of Year"   
FROM dates;

In the following example, the input date values are truncated and the TO_CHAR function is used to obtain the minute component of the truncated date values:

WITH dates AS (   
  SELECT date'2015-01-01' d FROM dual union   
  SELECT date'2015-01-10' d FROM dual union   
  SELECT date'2015-02-01' d FROM dual union   
  SELECT timestamp'2015-03-03 23:45:00' d FROM dual union   
  SELECT timestamp'2015-04-11 12:34:56' d FROM dual    
)   
SELECT d "Original Date",   
       trunc(d) "Date with Time Removed",   
       to_char(trunc(d, 'mi'), 'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi') "Nearest Minute",   
       trunc(d, 'iw') "Start of Week",   
       trunc(d, 'mm') "Start of Month",   
       trunc(d, 'year') "Start of Year"  
FROM dates;

The following statement alters the date format for the current session:

ALTER SESSION SET nls_date_format = 'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi';

In the following example, the data is displayed in the new date format:

WITH dates AS (   
  SELECT date'2015-01-01' d FROM dual union   
  SELECT date'2015-01-10' d FROM dual union   
  SELECT date'2015-02-01' d FROM dual union   
  SELECT timestamp'2015-03-03 23:44:32' d FROM dual union   
  SELECT timestamp'2015-04-11 12:34:56' d FROM dual    
)   
SELECT d "Original Date",   
       trunc(d) "Date, time removed",   
       to_char(trunc(d, 'mi'), 'dd-mon-yyyy hh24:mi') "Nearest Minute",   
       trunc(d, 'iw') "Start of Week",   
       trunc(d, 'mm') "Start of Month",   
       trunc(d, 'year') "Start of Year"   
FROM dates;