? FORMAT() Function in SQL

The FORMAT() function formats a number or date/time value according to a specified format or locale, returning a string.

? Syntax:

FORMAT(value, format [, culture])

• value: The number or date/time to format.

• format: A format string (depends on the data type).

• culture (optional): Specifies the locale (e.g., 'en-US', 'de-DE').

? Supported In:

• MySQL (mainly for numbers, limited date formatting)

• SQL Server (rich support for numbers and dates)

• MariaDB

? Examples in SQL Server:

Formatting Numbers:

SELECT FORMAT(12345.6789, 'N2');      -- '12,345.68' (number with 2 decimals)SELECT FORMAT(12345.6789, 'C');       -- '$12,345.68' (currency format)

Formatting Dates:

SELECT FORMAT(GETDATE(), 'dd-MM-yyyy');    -- '06-06-2025'SELECT FORMAT(GETDATE(), 'MMMM dd, yyyy'); -- 'June 06, 2025'

Using Culture:

SELECT FORMAT(12345.6789, 'C', 'fr-FR'); -- '12 345,68 €'

? Example in MySQL (numbers only):

SELECT FORMAT(1234567.8910, 2);   -- '1,234,567.89'

Note: MySQL’s FORMAT() only formats numbers and uses the current locale for thousands separator.

? Summary:

If you want, I can help you format specific data (dates, currencies) for your SQL dialect!