Differences in values for custom parameters in different formats - DataWorks

In data processing, you often need to dynamically generate partitions or filenames based on a task's runtime. To do this, you can use system-provided parameters to inject dynamic time values, such as the business date-based ${...} and the scheduled time-based $[...]. This topic compares the core differences between these parameter formats, focusing on precision, offset calculation, and use cases.

Important

For more information about base time definitions and how to transform custom parameters, see Supported formats for scheduling parameters.

Comparison of custom parameter formats

Assume that the current time is November 01, 2025, and a task is scheduled to run daily at 00:00. The following table shows how different custom parameters are assigned.

Note

Assume that the parameter is referenced in the code as pt=${datetime}.

Parameter format	Description	Scheduling parameter assignment	Parameter replacement result
`${yyyymmdd}`	Gets the business time.	`datetime=${yyyymmdd}`	`datetime=20251031`
`$[yyyymmddhh24miss]`	Gets the scheduled time, accurate to the second.	`datetime=$[yyyymmddhh24miss]`	`datetime=20251101000000`
`$bizdate`	Gets the business time.	`datetime=$bizdate`	`datetime=20251031`
`$cyctime`	Gets the scheduled time, accurate to the second.	`datetime=$cyctime`	`datetime=20251101000000`
`$gmtdate`	Gets the current time, accurate to the day.	`datetime=$gmtdate`	`datetime=20251101`
`$bizmonth`	Gets the business month. The logic is as follows: If the business time and current time are in the same month, the value is the previous month. Otherwise, the value is the month of the business time.	`datetime=$bizmonth`	For example, if the current time is `November 01, 2025`: If the business time is `November 02, 2025` (in the same month as the current time), then `datetime=202510`. If the business time is `October 31, 2025` (in a different month from the current time), then `datetime=202510`.

Core differences between ${…} and $[…] parameters

The following table compares the core differences between the ${…} and $[…] parameters.

Comparison	`${...}`	`$[...]`
Time baseline	Business date (T-1)	Scheduling time (T)
Time precision	Day (year, month, day)	Second (year, month, day, hour, minute, second)
Offset calculation capability	Supports offsets for years, months, weeks, and days.	Supports offsets for days, hours, and minutes.
Core limitations	Does not support formatting or offset calculations for smaller units like hours, minutes, or seconds.	Does not support direct year or month offsets using syntax like `$[yyyy±N]` or `$[mm±N]`. Use the `add_months` function instead.
Default equivalence	`${yyyymmdd}` is equivalent to `$bizdate`	`$[yyyymmddhh24miss]` is equivalent to `$cyctime`

For more information about how to use the ${…} and $[…] parameters, see Supported formats for scheduling parameters.
For more information about how to configure and use custom parameters, see Configure and use scheduling parameters.

This topic uses an ODPS SQL node as an example. Assume that the scheduled time for the task is 10:30:00 on July 20, 2025. The following table shows the time value configurations for the ${…} and $[…] parameters.

Time value	${…} parameter	$[…] parameter
Obtain the year: 2025	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=${yyyy}` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=2025`	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=$[yyyy]` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=2025`
Obtain the year: 25	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=${yy}` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=25`	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=$[yy]` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=25`
Obtain the year: 2024	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=${yyyy-1}` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=2024`	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=$[add_months(yyyymmdd,-12)]` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=2024`
Obtain the month: 07	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=${mm}` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=07`	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=$[mm]` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=07`
Obtain the day of the month: 20	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=${dd}` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=20`	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=$[dd]` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=20`
Obtain the date: June 20, 2025	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=${yyyy-mm-dd-29}` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=2025-06-20` Important This method is not recommended because you must account for the number of days in the month. Use the `$[]` format to obtain the corresponding date in the previous month.	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=$[add_months(yyyymmdd,-1)]` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=2025-06-20`
Obtain the date: July 19, 2025	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=${yyyy-mm-dd}` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=2025-07-19`	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=$[yyyy-mm-dd-1]` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=2025-07-19`
Obtain the date: July 20, 2024	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=${yyyy-mm-dd-364}` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=2024-07-20` Important This method is not recommended because you must account for leap years. Use the `$[]` format to obtain the corresponding date in the previous year.	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=$[add_months(yyyymmdd,-12)]` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=2024-07-20`
Obtain the time: 10:30:00	Not supported	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=$[hh24:mi:ss]` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `pt=10:30:00`
Obtain the time: 2025-07-20 10:30:00	Not supported	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime1=$[yyyy-mm-dd] datetime2=$[hh24:mi:ss]` Note Define two custom parameters, datetime1 and datetime2, separated by a space. Code reference: `pt=${datetime1} ${datetime2}` Parameter replacement result: `datetime1=$[yyyy-mm-dd]=2025-07-20` `datetime2=$[hh24:mi:ss]=10:30:00` `pt=2025-07-20 10:30:00`
Obtain the time: 2025-07-20 10:29:00	Not supported	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime1=$[yyyy-mm-dd] datetime2=$[hh24:mi:ss-1/24/60]` Note Define two custom parameters, datetime1 and datetime2, separated by a space. Code reference: `pt=${datetime1} ${datetime2}` Parameter replacement result: `datetime1=$[yyyy-mm-dd]=2025-07-20` `datetime2=$[hh24:mi:ss-1/24/60]=10:29:00` `pt=2025-07-20 10:29:00`
Obtain the time: 2025-07-20 09:30:00	Not supported	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime1=$[yyyy-mm-dd] datetime2=$[hh24:mi:ss-1/24]` Note Define two custom parameters, datetime1 and datetime2, separated by a space. Code reference: `pt=${datetime1} ${datetime2}` Parameter replacement result: `datetime1=$[yyyy-mm-dd]=2025-07-20` `datetime2=$[hh24:mi:ss-1/24]=09:30:00` `pt=2025-07-20 09:30:00`
Obtain the previous day's time, accurate to the second, with no space between the date and time: 2025071910:30:00	Not supported	Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime=$[yyyymmddhh24miss-1]` Code reference: `pt=${datetime}` Parameter replacement result: `datetime=$[yyyymmddhh24miss-1]=2025071910:30:00` `pt=2025071910:30:00`
Obtain the previous day's time, accurate to the second, with a space between the date and time: 20250719 10:30:00	Not supported	Important Scheduling parameter assignment expressions do not support spaces. To include a space, you can define two scheduling parameters and then join them with a space in your code reference. Scheduling parameter assignment: `datetime1=$[yyyymmdd-1] datetime2=$[hh24:mi:ss]` Note Define two custom parameters, datetime1 and datetime2, separated by a space. Code reference: `pt=${datetime1} ${datetime2}` Parameter replacement result: `datetime1=$[yyyymmdd-1]=20250719` `datetime2=$[hh24:mi:ss]=10:30:00` `pt=20250719 10:30:00`