oracle 8.1.6 sysdate select to_char(sysdate, 'YYYY-MM-DD') from dual select to_char(sysdate, 'HH24:MI:SS') from dual select c.category_id, c.category_name, s.subcategory_id, s.subcategory_name, ss.subsubcategory_id, ss.subsubcategory_name from ec_categories c, ec_subcategories s, ec_subsubcategories ss where c.category_id = s.category_id (+) and s.subcategory_id = ss.subcategory_id (+) order by c.sort_key, s.sort_key, ss.sort_key select c.category_id, c.category_name, s.subcategory_id, s.subcategory_name, ss.subsubcategory_id, ss.subsubcategory_name from ec_categories c, ec_subcategories s, ec_subsubcategories ss, ec_cat_mailing_lists m where m.category_id=c.category_id(+) and m.subcategory_id=s.subcategory_id(+) and m.subsubcategory_id=ss.subsubcategory_id(+) order by decode(c.category_id, null, 0, c.sort_key), decode(s.subcategory_id, null, 0, s.sort_key), decode(ss.subcategory_id, null, 0, ss.sort_key)