Issue with to_char in sqlplus

When I try to use a query like below it does not give me any o开发者_运维百科utput . its oracle 8i client connecting to 10g database.

SQL> SELECT (to_char(sysdate,'MM/DD/YYYY HH24:MI:SS')) from dual;

(TO_CHAR(SYSDATE,'M
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SQL>

Also, a query without the to_char function works without any issues. When I use the same command in another 8i client connecting to 10g, its working fine. I compared the SQL session settings and they look same.

any inputs on this is highly appreciated.

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Check the dates and crc checksums on the client executables. I'd suspect one is an old version with a bug. You don't give the underlying platforms of the different clients, so it may be a bug that was/is present in (for example) Windows but not *nix

Do you use an 'odd' character set on the client. There could be some unwanted character set conversion.

Why are you using an 8i client ?

An upgrade to a new client (eg the Database Express Edition client) might be appropriate.

What do you get if you try to select a straight VARCHAR2 variable (eg SELECT DUMMY FROM DUAL)

PS. Community wiki so anyone can add suggestions and code snippets

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try

SELECT to_char(sysdate,'MM/DD/YYYY HH24:MI:SS') as formmated_date from dual;