Athena Greater Than Condition in Date Column

Dealing with VARCHAR

If your date_column is currently in VARCHAR format, you should cast it to DATE. CAST(date_column AS DATE) will save you from a plethora of datatype-related troubles. Testing your query with various date values helps maintain the integrity of your comparisons.

SELECT * 
FROM your_table
WHERE CAST(date_column AS date) > '2023-01-01';
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Counting Observations by Date

In many scenarios, you might want to count observations group by date. Use COUNT(*) along with GROUP BY. Athena will do the computations while you grab a donut 🍩.

SELECT observation_date, COUNT(*)
FROM your_table
WHERE date_column > '2023-01-01'
GROUP BY observation_date;
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The TIMESTAMP Pitfall

Be cautious when comparing TIMESTAMPs with DATEs. As TIMESTAMP includes a time component, a DATE comparison without specifying time might yield unexpected results.

-- "You have zero time, just like Cinderella at midnight 💃🏼✨."
SELECT * 
FROM your_table
WHERE timestamp_column > DATE '2023-01-01 00:00:00'; 
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ISO-8601 Formatted Dates? No Problem

ISO-8601 formatted dates are no match for our ever-handy function, parse_datetime. Just pass the string and format to it and voila — problem solved!

-- "Talk ISO to me."
SELECT *
FROM your_table
WHERE date_column > parse_datetime('2023-01-01', 'yyyy-MM-dd');
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