to_timestamp function
Applies to: 
Databricks SQL Databricks Runtime
Returns expr cast to a timestamp using an optional formatting.
Syntax
to_timestamp(expr [, fmt] )
Arguments
expr: A STRING expression representing a timestamp.- fmt: An optional format STRING expression.
Returns
A TIMESTAMP.
If fmt is supplied, it must conform with Datetime patterns.
If fmt is not supplied, the function is a synonym for cast(expr AS TIMESTAMP).
If fmt is malformed or its application does not result in a well formed timestamp, the function raises an error.
To return NULL instead of an error in case of a malformed expr use try_to_timestamp.
note
In Databricks Runtime, if spark.sql.ansi.enabled is false, the function returns NULL instead of an error for malformed timestamps.
Examples
SQL
> SELECT to_timestamp('2016-12-31 00:12:00');
2016-12-31 00:12:00
> SELECT to_timestamp('2016-12-31', 'yyyy-MM-dd');
2016-12-31 00:00:00