How do you cast a string date '2020-01-01' to a DATE type?

• A. SELECT CAST('2020-01-01' AS STRING)
• B. SELECT CAST('2020-01-01' AS DATE)
• C. SELECT TO_DATE('2020-01-01')
• D. SELECT CONVERT('2020-01-01', DATE)

Answer: (B)

Casting a string to a DATE converts the text into a date data type so date operations can be used. Using CAST('2020-01-01' AS DATE) explicitly asks the database to interpret the string as a date, producing the date value 2020-01-01. This is the direct, standard way to change a value’s type to DATE. Other options either keep the value as text, rely on a formatting function that may require a format mask, or use dialect-specific syntax that isn’t universally supported. So casting to DATE with CAST(... AS DATE) is the correct approach.