The ingresdate data type is compatible with string data types if the value in the string is a valid representation of a date or time input format.

Absolute date or interval column values can be assigned to an ingresdate column. In addition, a string literal, a character string host variable, or a character string column value can be assigned to an ingresdate column if its value conforms to the valid input formats for Ingres dates or times.

When a date value is assigned to a character string, the DBMS Server converts the date to the display format (see page How Ingres Dates and Times Are Displayed).