How to only keep the time portion of a datetime value (SQL Server)?
<p>Here's what I use to get a <code>HH:MM</code> string:</p>

<pre><code>CONVERT(varchar(5), time_requested, 108)
</code></pre>

<p>I'm thinking there may be a more elegant way, even maybe more efficient (see similar question on <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2775/how-to-remove-the-time-portion-of-a-datetime-value-sql-server">How to remove the time portion of a datetime value (SQL Server)?</a>).</p>

<p>Requirements:</p>

<ul>
<li>the final result has to be easily convertible to a string (in order to be able to concatenate some field <code>time_created</code> with a field such as <code>date_created</code>).</li>
<li>the following 2 cases must be covered: <code>HH:MM</code> and <code>HH:MM:SS</code>.</li>
</ul>