# Data type formatting functions
<a name="Data_type_formatting"></a>

Using a data type formatting function, you can convert values from one data type to another. For each of these functions, the first argument is always the value to be formatted and the second argument contains the template for the new format. 

AWS Clean Rooms Spark SQL supports several data type formatting functions.

**Topics**
+ [BASE64 function](base64.md)
+ [CAST function](CAST_function.md)
+ [DECODE function](DECODE.md)
+ [ENCODE function](ENCODE.md)
+ [HEX function](HEX.md)
+ [STR\_TO\_MAP function](STR_TO_MAP.md)
+ [TO\_CHAR](TO_CHAR.md)
+ [TO\_DATE function](TO_DATE_function.md)
+ [TO\_NUMBER](TO_NUMBER.md)
+ [UNBASE64 function](unbase64.md)
+ [UNHEX function](UNHEX.md)
+ [Datetime format strings](FORMAT_strings.md)
+ [Numeric format strings](Numeric_formating.md)