SQL Error 2207 on TO_TIMESTAMP() using datetime format

Question

In Postgres, I'm trying to do a date/time based query in my WHERE predicate.

When I try to select with this date/time format SQL error says the value needs to be an integer. I'm not sure why it does not think my minute of 17 is not an integer or why it only see it as a 1 and not a 17?

SELECT *
FROM history
WHERE create_time > TO_TIMESTAMP('2018-10-08T23:17:44.728','yyyy-MM-dd''T''HH:mm:ss.SSS');

ERROR: invalid value ":1" for "HH" DETAIL: Value must be an integer. SQL state: 22007

Answer 1

The problem is due to using ''T'' which's before HH , and DB signals that, you might use

TO_TIMESTAMP('2018-10-08 23:17:44.728','yyyy-mm-dd HH24:MI:SS.MS')

instead.

Answer 2

You're trying to consume a date value that contains a T, and it looks like you're trying to declare to TO_TIMESTAMP that the T is a literal value to be ignored. Problem is you're doing this by putting 'T' (apostrophe-T-apostrophe, escaped) which is bumping the parser on by 3 characters and it is then encountering ':1' from 23:17 when it is expecting HH:

--your date, and underneath it, the format you gave
2018-10-08T23:17:44.728
yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss.SSS

Can you see how the HH aligns (vertically) with :1? Postgres is complaining that it was expecting an integer that it could parse to 23, but it encountered the string :1 which isn't an integer.

This question:

Postgres- have to_timestamp() ignore/not read a specific character in middle of date/time string

Implies you can put a space in the format where the T is, or just cast the string you have to a Timestamp - postgres can apparently parse that string as a Timestamp without you having to literally lay the format out for it explicitly

Try:

SELECT *
FROM history
WHERE create_time > TIMESTAMP '2018-10-08T23:17:44.728'

SELECT *
FROM history
WHERE create_time > cast('2018-10-08T23:17:44.728' as timestamp)

SELECT *
FROM history
WHERE create_time > TO_TIMESTAMP('2018-10-08T23:17:44.728','yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSS');

You might even find this works:

SELECT *
FROM history
WHERE create_time > TO_TIMESTAMP('2018-10-08T23:17:44.728', 'yyyy MM dd HH mm ss SSS')

The numbers align with the format fields and space is used for everything else you want to ignore (hyphens, colons, dots etc)