DESCRIBE FUNCTION unix_timestamp; DESCRIBE FUNCTION EXTENDED unix_timestamp; SELECT '2009-03-20 11:30:01', unix_timestamp('2009-03-20 11:30:01') FROM src LIMIT 1; SELECT '2009-03-20', unix_timestamp('2009-03-20', 'yyyy-MM-dd') FROM src LIMIT 1; SELECT '2009 Mar 20 11:30:01 am', unix_timestamp('2009 Mar 20 11:30:01 am', 'yyyy MMM dd h:mm:ss a') FROM src LIMIT 1; SELECT 'random_string', unix_timestamp('random_string') FROM src LIMIT 1;