SYNBASEDATE

Base date for xfODBC Julian day conversions

The SYNBASEDATE environment variable sets the base date for conversion of date fields with the JJJJJJ format.

Value

The date you want to use as a base date, in YYYY-MM-DD format. By default, SYNBASEDATE is set to 1752-09-14 (September 14, 1752).

Discussion

When you enter a date into a field with the JJJJJJ format, xfODBC stores the date as the difference between the date and the SYNBASEDATE value. Changing this value changes the way dates are stored and read.

Once you’ve modified data in the database, do not change the SYNBASEDATE value or the database will be corrupted. In addition, if you use the Julian functions %JPERIOD or %NDATE, do not use SYNBASEDATE.

If you do not set this variable, xfODBC uses the same base date as the Synergy runtime.

SYNBASEDATE does not affect the way system catalogs are generated.

Setting location

The connect file, the current environment, or the system-level. For client/server configurations, set SYNBASEDATE in the connect file on the server.

Used by

xfODBC