Return null for date_format when input is null in MySQL?

Use IF() function to return null for date_format when input is null in MySQL. The syntax is as follows −

SELECT IF(yourDateColumnName,date_format(yourDateColumnName, '%d/%m/%Y'),NULL) FROM yourTableName;

To understand the above syntax, let us create a table. The query to create a table is as follows −

mysql> create table returnNullWhenInputIsNullDemo
   -> (
   -> Id int NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
   -> ShippingDate datetime
   -> );
Query OK, 0 rows affected (1.21 sec)

Now you can insert some records in the table using insert command. The query is as follows −

mysql> insert into returnNullWhenInputIsNullDemo(ShippingDate) values('2019-01-21');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.37 sec)
mysql> insert into returnNullWhenInputIsNullDemo(ShippingDate) values(NULL);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.16 sec)
mysql> insert into returnNullWhenInputIsNullDemo(ShippingDate) values('2018-03-25');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.17 sec)
mysql> insert into returnNullWhenInputIsNullDemo(ShippingDate) values(NULL);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.17 sec)
mysql> insert into returnNullWhenInputIsNullDemo(ShippingDate) values(NULL);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.10 sec)
mysql> insert into returnNullWhenInputIsNullDemo(ShippingDate) values('2012-04-23');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.20 sec)
mysql> insert into returnNullWhenInputIsNullDemo(ShippingDate) values('2018-12-01');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.23 sec)
mysql> insert into returnNullWhenInputIsNullDemo(ShippingDate) values('2016-11-13');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.13 sec)

Display all records from the table using select statement. The query is as follows −

mysql> select *from returnNullWhenInputIsNullDemo;

The following is the output −

+----+---------------------+
| Id | ShippingDate        |
+----+---------------------+
| 1  | 2019-01-21 00:00:00 |
| 2  | NULL                |
| 3  | 2018-03-25 00:00:00 |
| 4  | NULL                |
| 5  | NULL                |
| 6  | 2012-04-23 00:00:00 |
| 7  | 2018-12-01 00:00:00 |
| 8  | 2016-11-13 00:00:00 |
+----+---------------------+
8 rows in set (0.00 sec)

Here is the query to return null for date_format when input is null in MySQL −

mysql> SELECT IF(ShippingDate,date_format(ShippingDate, '%d/%m/%Y'),NULL) FROM returnNullWhenInputIsNullDemo;

The following is the output −

+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| IF(ShippingDate,date_format(ShippingDate, '%d/%m/%Y'),NULL) |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| 21/01/2019                                                  |
| NULL                                                        |
| 25/03/2018                                                  |
| NULL                                                        |
| NULL                                                        |
| 23/04/2012                                                  |
| 01/12/2018                                                  |
| 13/11/2016                                                  |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
8 rows in set (0.05 sec)