DATE_FORMAT in query

[BIOSTALL]

Hey, i have a query such as:

SELECT * FROM cars WHERE carmake="FORD"

Now, one of the columns i'm selecting, i need to run a DATE_FORMAT on it. Now i could write the query such as:

SELECT carmake, carmodel, DATE_FORMAT(carcreation, '%d/%m/%Y'), carcolour ......... FROM cars WHERE carmake="FORD"

The trouble is i've got like 30 columns i'm selecting so writing out every column name like in the second query would be very tedious. Is there a way to select all data using '*' but then format certain columns??

Would i be able to do it the same query or would i require a second query to format the required columns?

Thanks, BIOSTALL

[eoghain]

First off, it's better design to write your queries to only return the columns that you need. Why select every column in your table if you are only going to use 10 of 30?

However there are times when you need every column in your table, even then it's better design to explicitly call out each column, this is so that if you add a column to your table at a later date and don't need it you're not going to break any of your other code.

Finally if you are determined to not enter every column in your query you can just call out the columns that you need to format:

SELECT *,
       DATE_FORMAT( carcreation, '%d/%m/%Y') AS carcreationFormated
  FROM cars 
 WHERE carmake="FORD"