User Guide

Chapter 2: ColdFusion Functions 325
DateFormat
Returns a formatted date/time value. If no mask is specified, DateFormat function
returns date value using the dd-mmm-yy format.
See also Now, CreateDate, and ParseDateTime.
Syntax DateFormat( date [, mask ])
date
Date/time object in the period from 1601 AD to 9999 AD.
mask
Set of characters that are used to show how ColdFusion should display the date:
•
d — Day of the month as digits with no leading zero for single-digit days.
•
dd — Day of the month as digits with a leading zero for single-digit days.
•
ddd — Day of the week as a three-letter abbreviation.
•
dddd — Day of the week as its full name.
•
m — Month as digits with no leading zero for single-digit months.
•
mm — Month as digits with a leading zero for single-digit months.
•
mmm — Month as a three-letter abbreviation.
•
mmmm — Month as its full name.
•
y — Year as last two digits with no leading zero for years less than 10.
•
yy — Year as last two digits with a leading zero for years less than 10.
•
yyyy — Year represented by four digits.
•
gg — Period/era string. Currently ignored, but reserved for future use.
Usage When passing a date/time value as a string, make sure it is enclosed in quotes.
Otherwise, it is interpreted as a number representation of a date/time object, returning
undesired results.
Note On UNIX, there is a switch that provides fast date-time parsing. If you
have enabled this switch, you must refer to dates in expressions in the
following order: month, day, and year. For example:
<CFIF “11/23/1998” GT “11/15/1998”>
If this switch is set, the default date format returned by the DateFormat() function
cannot be parsed in an expression. However, if you specify a mask, indicating the
correct order, such as,
mm/dd/yyyy, the date returned by this function can be parsed.
The Fast Date/Time Parsing switch is set on the ColdFusion Administrator Server
Settings page. Please refer to Administering ColdFusion Server for more information
about ColdFusion settings.