How to display date in a different format in oracle

Question

I have a table with a date field. By default, select max(date) from table; returns the date in \'dd-mmm-yy\' format. How do I select the date in \'MM/DD/YYYY\'

Answer 1

Exists a table or view v$nls_parameters search here the parameter 'NLS_DATE_FORMAT', this is perfect for not be changing the format each while.

SELECT * 
  FROM v$nls_parameters WHERE UPPER(PARAMETER) = 'NLS_DATE_FORMAT';

ALTER SESSION SET NLS_DATE_FORMAT = 'YYYYMMDD'; 

There is also the possibility from make for register of win. in tree

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\ORACLE\KEY_OraClient11g_home9

Here key NLS_DATE_FORMAT, change for your format date.