Thread: problem with date and to_char

I am a little stumped.
postgresql 7.1.3
suse linux 7

I have a database with

CREATE TABLE "fc_communication" ("acode" character varying(12),"conversation" text,"contactdate" date

CREATE TABLE "comm_date" ("lastcontact" timestamp with time zone DEFAULT 'now' NOT NULL,Constraint "comm_date_pkey"
PrimaryKey ("lastcontact")
 

When I update fc_communication I also (without a trigger) update 
comm_date with a sep  

update comm_date set lastcontact = 'now';

it works beautifully if I do a psql
'select * from comm_date;'

2002-01-08 16:16:03

I always get the last moment that someone updated the communications file

however what I want to do is:
SELECT to_char(lastcontact, 'Month DD, YYYY   HH:MM') from comm_date;


January   08, 2002   04:01

why is this 04:01?

Every time I do this I get the very first date (that no longer exists). 
Why do I get different results. I expect 'select *' is the base and 
everything else is a varient.

Ted
tedpet@symcom.com

Ted,

> January   08, 2002   04:01
> 
> why is this 04:01?
> 
> Every time I do this I get the very first date (that no longer
> exists). 
> Why do I get different results. I expect 'select *' is the base and 
> everything else is a varient.

You're going to have to be clearer about the source of your confusion.
I've read your e-mail twice, and I just can't see what the problem is.
The results that you get are exactly according to the documentation.

-Josh


______AGLIO DATABASE SOLUTIONS___________________________                                      Josh Berkus Complete
informationtechnology      josh@agliodbs.com  and data management solutions       (415) 565-7293 for law firms, small
businesses       fax 621-2533   and non-profit organizations.      San Francisco
 

"Josh Berkus" <josh@agliodbs.com> writes:
> The results that you get are exactly according to the documentation.

A more useful answer might be to suggest that he wants HH24:MI
rather than HH:MM.
        regards, tom lane

Tom,

> > The results that you get are exactly according to the
> documentation.
> 
> A more useful answer might be to suggest that he wants HH24:MI
> rather than HH:MM.

Oh!  That's the issue?  I really couldn't figure it out.

-Josh

______AGLIO DATABASE SOLUTIONS___________________________                                      Josh Berkus Complete
informationtechnology      josh@agliodbs.com  and data management solutions       (415) 565-7293 for law firms, small
businesses       fax 621-2533   and non-profit organizations.      San Francisco