Mini-tip #1 - Getting rid of spaces after TO_CHAR

Today, I'm going to give you an Oracle tip to get rid of spaces after you've used TO_CHAR.

If I run this script:

select to_char(1234.89, '$999,990.00') num_format 
from dual
/

select to_char(SYSDATE, 'Day, Month DD, YYYY') date_format
from dual
/

I get:

NUM_FORMAT  
——————
   $1,234.89

1 row selected.

DATE_FORMAT                  
——————————————-
Friday   , August    14, 2006

1 row selected.

Do you notice the lead spacing in the first statement and the odd spacing in the second?

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