NLS_CALENDAR

Property Description
Parameter type String
Syntax NLS_CALENDAR = "calendar_system"
Default value None
Modifiable ALTER SESSION
Range of values Any valid calendar format name
Basic No

NLS_CALENDAR specifies which calendar system Oracle uses. It can have one of the following values:

  • Arabic Hijrah

  • English Hijrah

  • Gregorian

  • Japanese Imperial

  • Persian

  • ROC Official (Republic of China)

  • Thai Buddha

For example, suppose NLS_CALENDAR is set to "Japanese Imperial", the date format is "E YY-MM-DD". ("E" is the date format element for the abbreviated era name.) If the date is May 15, 1997, then the SYSDATE is displayed as follows:

SELECT SYSDATE FROM DUAL;
SYSDATE
--------
H 09-05-15

Note:

The value of this initialization parameter NLS_CALENDER is used to initialize the session value of this parameter, which is the actual value referenced by the SQL query processing. If the initialization parameter is not specified, the initial session value becomes GREGORIAN. This initial value is overridden by a client-side value if the client is OCI-based and the NLS_LANG client setting (environment variable) is defined.

See Also:

Oracle Database Globalization Support Guide for a listing of available calendar systems