Informix DataBlade API Programmer's Manual DataBlade API Function Descriptions

The mi_string_to_datetime() function converts a text (string) representation of a date and/or time value or date and/or time string to its internal (binary) DATETIME representation.

mi_datetime *mi_string_to_datetime(dt_string, type_range)

mi_string *dt_string;

mi_string *type_range;

dt_string	is a pointer to the date and/or time string to convert to its internal DATETIME format.
type_range	is a pointer to a string that specifies the range of DATETIME qualifiers in the date and/or time string that dt_string references.

Valid in Client LIBMI Application?	Valid in User-Defined Routine?
Yes	Yes

The mi_string_to_datetime() function converts the date and/or time string that dt_string references to its internal DATETIME value. An internal DATETIME value is the format that the database server uses to store a value in a DATETIME column of the database.

The date and/or time string that dt_string references has the following fixed ANSI SQL format:

"YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:SS.FFFFF"

 



YYYY

is the 4-digit year.


MM

is the 2-digit month.


DD

is the 2-digit day.


mm

is the 2-digit minute.


SS

is the 2-digit second.


FFFFF

is the fraction of a second, where the number if digits is specified by the date and/or time qualifier with a maximum precision of 5 digits.

When you call mi_string_to_datetime() in a C UDR, this date and/or time string can contain only a subset of this range. In this case, the type_range argument must specify the range of qualifiers that the date and/or time string contains. This qualifier range begins with the keyword datetime and is followed by the range of qualifiers for the value in the dt_string. For example, the following call to mi_string_to_datetime() converts the date 01/31/98 and a time of 10:30 A.M. to its internal DATETIME format:

mi_datetime *internal_dt;
...
internal_dt = mi_string_to_datetime(
				"1998-01-31 10:30",
				"datetime year to minute");

If the type_range argument is a NULL-valued pointer, the mi_string_to_datetime() function assumes a default qualifier range of:

"datetime year to second"

When you call mi_string_to_datetime() in a client LIBMI application, this date and/or time string must contain the full range of qualifiers. The type_range argument must also specify the full range. For example, the following call to mi_string_to_datetime() converts the date 05/31/99 and a time of 8:52 a.m. to its internal DATETIME format:

mi_datetime *internal_dt;
...
internal_dt = mi_string_to_datetime(
				"1999-05-31 08:52:12",
				"datetime year to second");

Important: The mi_string_to_datetime() function replaces the mi_datetime_to_binary() function for string-to-internal-DATETIME conversion in DataBlade API modules.

The mi_string_to_datetime() function does not accept the date and/or time string in the date and time formats of the current processing locale.

See the descriptions of the following functions: mi_datetime_to_string(), mi_string_to_date(), mi_string_to_decimal(), mi_string_to_interval(), and mi_string_to_money().

For more information on how to convert date and/or time strings to internal DATETIME format, see Converting Date or Time Between Text and Binary.