Re: to_date() and invalid dates - Mailing list pgsql-general

Thomas Kellerer wrote:
>>> I asked this a while back already:
>>>
>>>    select to_date('2013-02-31', 'yyyy-mm-dd');
>>>
>>> will not generate an error (unlike e.g. Oracle)
>>
>> This is by design.
> 
> When I previously asked this question the answer as "this is based on Oracle's to_date()":
> http://postgresql.1045698.n5.nabble.com/to-char-accepting-invalid-dates-td4598597.html#a4608551

See for example
http://www.postgresql.org/message-id/20099.1350484290@sss.pgh.pa.us
that this is known and accepted behaviour.
However,
http://www.postgresql.org/message-id/22259.1114613632@sss.pgh.pa.us
so I guess that it was not intended, but since it has been that way
for long enough it would be too painful to change it.

So actually my original answer "it is by design" is probably wrong.

"Based upon" should be read as "inspired by" rather than
"compatible with".

Yours,
Laurenz Albe