How to convert getdate() stored as varchar to date

Question

I have stored 'getdate()' as text in one of my column in a table. (It's a complicated scenario ,how I saved it) Now when I select the field what I am getting is getdate() instead of the date . How can I convert this to date time.

I am adding a sample code to understand this

declare @a varchar(20)='getdate()'

select convert(datetime,@a)

This results in conversion error. How can I convert this to date?

Answer 1

You can use a case statement.

declare @a varchar(20)='getdate()';
select case when @a = 'getdate()' then getdate() end;

Answer 2

You can use dynamic SQL for this, however it is very prone to SQL Injection.

DECLARE @a VARCHAR(20) = 'getdate()';

EXEC ('SELECT convert(datetime,' + @a + ')');