Every once and awhile, I always stumble with the problem of parsing/formatting DateTime. This happens in MySQL, Oracle DB, MS SQL and .NET environment (yeah, my company has all of them :D)

Since I often forget about them, let me just put it down here for my (hopefully, yours too) quick reference in the future.

In MySQL, converting DateTime to String is using DATE_FORMAT function. On the other hand, parsing String to DateTime is using STR_TO_DATE.

SELECT DATE_FORMAT(NOW(), '%d-%M-%Y');
-- Output: 21-March-2015

SELECT STR_TO_DATE('19-February-2015', '%d-%M-%Y');
-- Output: 2015-02-19 

The complete list of symbols which can be used is listed below (prettified, original source can be found HERE):

In Oracle, converting DateTime to String is using TO_CHAR function. As for parsing String to DateTime, we use TO_DATE.

SELECT TO_CHAR(current_timestamp, 'DD-MON-YYYY') from dual;
-- Output: 21-March-2015

SELECT TO_DATE('19-FEB-2015', 'DD-MON-YYYY') from dual;
-- Output: 19-FEB-15 

The complete list of symbols that can be used are listed below (prettified, original source can be found HERE):

-
/
,
.
;
:
"text"

AD
A.D.

AM
A.M.

BC
B.C.

CC
SCC

D

DAY

DD

DDD

DL

DS

DY

E

EE

FF [1..9]

SELECT TO_CHAR(SYSTIMESTAMP, 'SS.FF3') from dual;

FM

FX

HH

HH12

HH24

IW

IYY
IY
I

IYYY

J

MI

MM

MON

MONTH

PM
P.M.

Q

RM

RR

RRRR

SS

SSSSS

TS

Yes

TZD 

TZH

TZM

TZR

WW

W

X

Y,YYY

YEAR
SYEAR

YYYY
SYYYY

In MS SQL, converting DateTime to String is using FORMAT function. To convert from String to DateTime, we can use either CONVERT or PARSE.

Unfortunately, we can’t really use custom format to parse a string.To make things easy to remember, I simplified it to two ways:

1. The German way.
   • Culture code: de-DE
   • Culture mode (with millenia): 104
   • Culture mode (without millenia): 4
   • DateTime format: dd-MM-yyyy (date before month)
2. The US way.
   • Culture code: en-US
   • Culture mode: 101
   • Culture mode (without millenia): 1
   • DateTime format: MM-dd-yyyy (month before date)

select FORMAT(CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,'dd-MMM-yyyy');
--Output: 21-Mar-2015

-- The US Way, with millenia
select convert(datetime, '03-06-2012 10:11', 101);
--Output: 2012-03-06 10:11:00.000

-- The US Way, without millenia
select convert(datetime, '03-06-12 10:11', 1);
--Output: 2012-03-06 10:11:00.000

-- The German way
select PARSE('03.06.2012 19:00' as datetime using 'de-DE');
select PARSE('03/06/2012 19:00' as datetime using 'de-DE');
select PARSE('03-06-2012 19:00' as datetime using 'de-DE');
-- All three has the same output: 2012-06-03 19:00:00.000

Other symbols that can be used in formatting a datetime are shown below (prettified, original source can be find HERE):

By .NET Framework I mean C# :D. In C#, converting a DateTime object to a String is by calling its ToString method. On the other hand, converting a String to a DateTime is by using either DateTime.Parse or DateTime.ParseExact.

Console.WriteLine(DateTime.Now.ToString());
// Output: 3/21/2015 5:50:43 AM

Console.WriteLine(DateTime.Now.ToString("dd-MMM-yyyy"));
// Output: 21-Mar-2015

var dt = DateTime.Parse("19 Mar 2012"); 
// Works

var dt1 = DateTime.Parse("19 03 2012"); 
// Exception, because my default the US Way

var dt2 = DateTime.Parse("03 19 2012"); 
// Only works if your default culture has date format similar to German, e.g. Italy

// Now we parse with custom format
var dt3 = DateTime.ParseExact("19 03 2012", "dd MM yyyy", System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture)
// Works

As we can see, we may pass the custom format to DateTime.ParseExact and DateTime.ToString. The symbols which we can use in the custom format is exactly the same as the symbols we use in MS SQL (please refer to the previous page).

Hopefully, converting between DateTime to String, vice-versa, would no longer a problem. You can always return here for a quick reference.

I hope it helps,
Cheers

Yesterday was the last day of my communication training. Unlike the first day, this time around I couldn’t be inside the class all the time. Urgent matters keep on popping up, making me left the class intermittently.

Although I was on and off with the class, I was lucky that my team helping me filling in the gaps. The topic was about conflict handling. We discussed on issues like what should we do if our team members involved in conflict? What should we do if we are actually involved in a conflict? How to handle conflict professionally?

First, when I said conflict, I mean unresolved disagreement between two person. Or, there is no disagreement, but one side hold a grudge against the other. Any conflict is advisably should be solved immediately. The longer the conflict remains unresolved, the more explosive it might become.

If we saw an open altercation between two members of our team, we need to do the following:

1. Separate the two person. Ask who want to talk first.
2. The other person shall wait in different room. Get another manager/supervisor within the same rank as us to talk to this other person
3. Find out the root cause of the conflict. Was there any previous disputes between these two?
4. Verify any facts/opinion stated by both sides
5. Must maintain our fairness and objectivity
6. Brainstorm together for the best win-win possible solution. If not, align the solution with Company’s goal
7. Make sure both sides can accept the solution, make them sign in black and white if necessary

We can based on Thomas-Kilmann model when searching for the solution of a conflict:

If possible, we should always start with Compromising. Then as we go along, we also brainstorm aiming to reach Collaborating.

This is another interesting topic that we discussed in the first day of my communication training. We often assume that communication is more on conveying message. But let’s not forget that receiving and understanding the message is equally important.

Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.
-Stephen R. Covey

We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say.
– Zeno of Citium

Here are 10 ways to improve our listening skills:

1. Before begin to listen, start with a deep inhale and exhale quietly.
2. Listen and relax. Don’t even think on how to reply. Our job now is to listen and gather data.
3. When the other party pauses, summarize our understanding then ask whether we got it right so far.
4. Don’t multitask while listening. Or, don’t ever multitask on anything.
5. Show empathy. We might have an contrast opinion, but can we found common ground?
6. If we get confused, immediately raise our hand then ask question
7. Maintain proper eye contact (if the culture permits)
8. Always remember what is the goal of this communication. This goal should guide us along the communication to make sure we are on the right track
9. Listen with open mind. Put aside any biases or prejudices that might affect on how we hear things.
10. Pay attention to things which are not said. Does the body language seems to contradict what has been said? If yes, then make clarification if necessary.

I hope it’s useful.

Cheers