Date Formatting

Oracle stores dates and timestamps differently than PHP. Laravel-OCI8 handles the conversion automatically by setting the default session format to YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS to match PHP's common date format.

Setting a Custom Date Format

If you need a different date format for your Oracle session, use the setDateFormat method:

DB::setDateFormat('MM/DD/YYYY');

This changes how Oracle returns date values to PHP. The format you choose should match how your application processes dates.

Common Oracle Date Format Models

Persisting the Format Setting

The date format is set per connection. To ensure consistent behavior, consider setting it in a service provider or middleware:

// In AppServiceProvider::boot()
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;
 
DB::connection('oracle')->setDateFormat('YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS');

Timestamp Formats

For timestamp fields, you can also set the timestamp format separately:

DB::setDateFormat('YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS.FF3'); // With milliseconds

Important Notes

• The date format is connection-specific and resets when the connection is re-established
• If you're using connection pooling, the format may need to be set on each connection
• Some Oracle features (like TO_CHAR or TO_DATE functions) may be affected by the session format

See Also

• Oracle Eloquent Model - Date handling in models
• General Settings - Connection configuration