SQL SERVER – A Quick Trick about SQL Server 2012 CONCAT function

December 20, 2011 by pinaldave

Just a day before I was presenting at Virtual Tech Days and I wanted to demonstrate the current time to audience using SQL Server Management Studio, I ended up a quick error. If any of you ever tried to concat multiple values of different datatype this should not be surprise to you.

SELECT 'Current Time ' + GETDATE()

I quickly modified script to following workaround and my script worked right away.

SELECT 'Current Time ' + CAST(GETDATE() AS VARCHAR(20))

Current Time Dec 20 2011  7:00PM

However, I instantly realized that I can use SQL Server 2012 function which can right fit for this situation.

SELECT CONCAT('Current Time ', GETDATE())

I have previously written in detail article about SQL Server 2012 CONCAT function over here additionally, I have written quick guide on 14 new functions of SQL Server Denali.

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)