Question

I’m trying to convert varchar dates with multiple formats into a standard DateTime format so I can compare the dates between them. I wrote an SQL statement which I believe is on the right track but I know too little SQL to spot mistakes. My current code errors out. Here’s what I have:

    DELIMITER //

    CREATE FUNCTION CUSTOM_DATE_CONVERT ( d VARCHAR(50) )
      RETURNS DATETIME

      BEGIN
        DECLARE date DATETIME;

        IF STR_TO_DATE

( d, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%i:%s" ) IS NOT NULL THEN SET date = STR_TO_DATE( d, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%i:%s" );
    ELSE
        IF STR_TO_DATE( d, "%H:%i:%s %b %d, %Y" ) IS NOT NULL THEN SET date = STR_TO_DATE( d, "%H:%i:%s %b %d, %Y" );
            END IF;
        RETURN date;
      END//

    DELIMITER ;

    SELECT id, CUSTOM_DATE_CONVERT( payment_date ) FROM `paypal_table` 

And my error is:

#1064 - You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near '' at line 12 

Am I on the right track? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

It seems you forget to include an ENDIF

IF STR_TO_DATE ... THEN SET date = STR_TO_DATE( d, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%i:%s" );
ELSE
    IF ...THEN SET date = STR_TO_DATE( d, "%H:%i:%s %b %d, %Y" );
    END IF; /* close second if */
END IF;     /* close first if  */

see example