What determines the date/time format for SELECT statements in Rails?

[Stuart Smith]

If I issue a select statement on a table containing
date/time/datetime/timestamp columns (type depends on backend DB)can I
guarantee that the returned formatted output from the corresponding
ActiceRecord column will always be the same regardless of the backend
DB.

The format appears to be 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS'; what sets up the
format and can I change it?

Thanks

 

[David Heinemeier Hansson]

If I issue a select statement on a table containing

date/time/datetime/timestamp columns (type depends on backend DB)can I
guarantee that the returned formatted output from the corresponding
ActiceRecord column will always be the same regardless of the backend
DB.

Active Record doesn't support timestamp columns, but all the others are
turned into Date or Time objects regardless of the database behind.
That's part of the job of the adapters. Exposing a common front for
Active Record to operate on the database.