Oracle/PLSQL: To_Char Function | Oracle Functions Tutorial

In Oracle/PLSQL, the to_char function converts a number or date to a string.

The syntax for the to_char function is:

to_char( value, [ format_mask ], [ nls_language ] )

value can either be a number or date that will be converted to a string.

format_mask is optional. This is the format that will be used to convert value to a string.

nls_language is optional. This is the nls language used to convert value to a string.



Applies To:

Oracle 8i, Oracle 9i, Oracle 10g, Oracle 11g


Examples - Numbers

The following are number examples for the to_char function.

to_char(1210.73, '9999.9') would return '1210.7'
to_char(1210.73, '9,999.99') would return '1,210.73'
to_char(1210.73, '$9,999.00') would return '$1,210.73'
to_char(21, '000099') would return '000021'