[Bug]: Text file output - Date format is ignored

[dave-csc]

Apache Hop version?

2.12.0

Java version?

17.0.2

Operating system

Linux

What happened?

The Text file output transforms always formats any date in the default extended format (e.g. Mon Dec 23 00:00:00 CET 2002), regardless of the declared Format in the Field section, or the Format defined in previous transforms (e.g. Select values).

To workaround, place a Select values transform before Text file output, and convert the Dates into Strings using the format you like

Issue Priority

Priority: 2

Issue Component

Component: Transforms

[bamaer]

1. a date is an object type, the format only applies to the string representation of that type
2. text files are data type agnostic, everything is a string in a text file. If your date format matters, write your date fields to the text file as a String field and apply the formatting there, there's no need to add an intermediate Select Values transform.

[dave-csc]

Hi @bamaer,

If your date format matters, write your date fields to the text file as a String field and apply the formatting there, there's no need to add an intermediate Select Values transform.

following this reply I tried to remove the conversion in Select values and print the Dates as Strings (with formatting applied) in the Text file output, but they're still keeping the default extended format...

[bamaer]

the attached pipeline (remove .txt) writes a number of date fields as string with formatting applied. Let me know if this doesn't work for you.
5028-date-format-as-string.hpl.txt

[hansva]

could you provide a reproduction path? because this seems to be working as expected

[dave-csc]

Hello @bamaer and @hansva,

I probably found what was causing the "issue": I had enabled the option Fast data dump (no formatting) in the Text file output transform. Removing the option makes the Dates formatted as desired (but you also need to strip the Length column for the other fields, otherwise they will be padded with spaces)

Sorry for the false alarm, thanks for your support :)