Date and time formats
When the HCL Informix® product reads a string that contains time data, it uses the display format to determine how to convert this string to the internal integer value for a DATETIME column.
When the HCL Informix® product prints a string
that contains time data, it uses the time display format to determine how to format the internal
integer value for a DATETIME column as a string. In the same way, HCL Informix® products use the date display format to read
and print strings for the internal values of the date data types.
Important: Display
formats specify how client applications view data, but do not affect the internal format of DATETIME
or DATE values stored in the database.
The display formats for date and time can include the names and abbreviations for days of the week and months of the year, and the commonly used representations for dates, time (12-hour and 24-hour), and DATETIME values.
For more information, see Customize date and time display formats.