5.2.1 Problem
You want to change the format that MySQL uses for representing date values.
5.2.2 Solution
You can't. However, you can rewrite input values into the proper format when storing dates, and you can rewrite them into fairly arbitrary format for display by using the DATE_FORMAT( ) function.
5.2.3 Discussion
The CCYY-MM-DD format that MySQL uses for DATE values follows the ISO 8601 standard for representing dates. This format has the useful property that because the year, month, and day parts have a fixed length and appear left to right in date strings, dates sort naturally into the proper temporal order.[1] However, ISO format is not used by all database systems, which can cause problems if you want to move data between different systems. Moreover, people commonly like to represent dates in other formats such as MM/DD/YY or DD-MM-CCYY. This too can be a source of trouble, due to mismatches between human expectations of what dates should look like and the way MySQL actually represents them.
[1] Chapters Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 discuss ordering and grouping techniques for date-based values.
A frequent question from people who are new to MySQL is, "How do I tell MySQL to store dates in a specific format such as MM/DD/CCYY?" Sorry, you can't. MySQL always stores dates in ISO format, a fact that has implications both for data entry and for result set display:
Using the mysql Client Program
Writing MySQL-Based Programs
Record Selection Techniques
Working with Strings
Working with Dates and Times
Sorting Query Results
Generating Summaries
Modifying Tables with ALTER TABLE
Obtaining and Using Metadata
Importing and Exporting Data
Generating and Using Sequences
Using Multiple Tables
Statistical Techniques
Handling Duplicates
Performing Transactions
Introduction to MySQL on the Web
Incorporating Query Resultsinto Web Pages
Processing Web Input with MySQL
Using MySQL-Based Web Session Management
Appendix A. Obtaining MySQL Software
Appendix B. JSP and Tomcat Primer
Appendix C. References