Ruth=2C Ruth Gramolini wrote =3E Good morning all=2C =3E One of my developers asked me to find out what the strange symbol = =3E I have put in bold in this line is=3A =3E days=5Fin=5F2000 =3A=3D begin=5F2001 =D0 begin=5F2000=3B Replace that funny character with an ordinary minus sign=2C and everything works perfectly=2E The expression SYSDATE is right now=2E The expression SYSDATE + 1 is tomorrow=2C at the same time as now=2E The expression SYSDATE - 1/24 is one hour ago=2E Similarly the expression (SYSDATE + 1) - SYSDATE is exactly 1=2E Keep your head cool and remember whether you are calculating with dates (points in time) or days (a number) Regards Jesper Haure Norrevang -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l