diff --git a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/DBColumnExpr.java b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/DBColumnExpr.java
index 3c2b33e..61e6492 100644
--- a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/DBColumnExpr.java
+++ b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/DBColumnExpr.java
@@ -864,6 +864,18 @@
     }
 
     /**
+     * Formats a column-expression using a format string
+     * This function is intended for formatting numbers.
+     * Formatting any other data types may not supported and be database specific
+     * @param format the format string. Beware: This is passed to the database "as is" and hence may be database specific.
+     * @return a string expression representing the formatted value
+     */
+    public DBColumnExpr format(String format)
+    {
+        return getExprFromPhrase(DBDatabaseDriver.SQL_FUNC_FORMAT, new Object[] { format }, getUpdateColumn(), false, DataType.VARCHAR);
+    }
+    
+    /**
      * Creates and returns a sql-expression that returns the string length of this expression.
 
      * @return the new DBFuncExpr object
diff --git a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/DBCommand.java b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/DBCommand.java
index 74778b3..caffa5a 100644
--- a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/DBCommand.java
+++ b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/DBCommand.java
@@ -778,11 +778,11 @@
         	return;
         removeConstraintOn(where, col);
     }
-
+    
     /**
      * Returns a copy of the defined joins.
      * 
-     * @return vector of joins
+     * @return the list of joins
      */
     public List<DBJoinExpr> getJoins()
     {
@@ -813,9 +813,29 @@
             having = new ArrayList<DBCompareExpr>();
         setConstraint(having, expr);
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns true if the command has having-constraints or false if not.
+     * 
+     * @return true if constraints have been set on the command
+     */
+    public boolean hasHavingConstraints()
+    {
+        return (having!=null && having.size()>0);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns a copy of the defined having clauses.
+     * 
+     * @return list of having constraints
+     */
+    public List<DBCompareExpr> getHavingConstraints()
+    {
+        return (this.having!=null ? Collections.unmodifiableList(this.having) : null);
+    }
     
     /**
-     * removes a constraint on a particular column from the where clause
+     * removes a constraint on a particular column from the having clause
      * @param col the column expression for which to remove the constraint
      */
     public void removeHavingConstraintOn(DBColumnExpr col)
diff --git a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/DBDatabaseDriver.java b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/DBDatabaseDriver.java
index 44b09c9..4aacd7b 100644
--- a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/DBDatabaseDriver.java
+++ b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/DBDatabaseDriver.java
@@ -94,6 +94,7 @@
     public static final int SQL_FUNC_FLOOR       = 123; // Oracle: floor(?)
     public static final int SQL_FUNC_CEILING     = 124; // Oracle: ceil(?)
     public static final int SQL_FUNC_MODULO      = 125; // Oracle: mod(?)
+    public static final int SQL_FUNC_FORMAT      = 126; // Oracle: TO_CHAR(?)
     // Date
     public static final int SQL_FUNC_DAY         = 132; // MSSQL: month(?)
     public static final int SQL_FUNC_MONTH       = 133; // MSSQL: month(?)
diff --git a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/derby/DBDatabaseDriverDerby.java b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/derby/DBDatabaseDriverDerby.java
index e60b6a8..8eed386 100644
--- a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/derby/DBDatabaseDriverDerby.java
+++ b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/derby/DBDatabaseDriverDerby.java
@@ -220,6 +220,8 @@
             case SQL_FUNC_TRUNC:              return "truncate(?,{0})";
             case SQL_FUNC_CEILING:            return "ceiling(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_FLOOR:              return "floor(?)";
+            case SQL_FUNC_MODULO:             return "mod(?,{0})";
+            case SQL_FUNC_FORMAT:             return "format(?, {0:VARCHAR})";
             // Date
             case SQL_FUNC_DAY:                return "day(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_MONTH:              return "month(?)";
diff --git a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/expr/column/DBAbstractFuncExpr.java b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/expr/column/DBAbstractFuncExpr.java
index ffff472..d89fd3d 100644
--- a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/expr/column/DBAbstractFuncExpr.java
+++ b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/expr/column/DBAbstractFuncExpr.java
@@ -27,7 +27,10 @@
 import org.apache.empire.db.DBColumnExpr;
 import org.apache.empire.db.DBDatabase;
 import org.apache.empire.db.DBDatabaseDriver;
+import org.apache.empire.exceptions.InvalidArgumentException;
 import org.apache.empire.xml.XMLUtil;
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 import org.w3c.dom.Element;
 
 
@@ -37,6 +40,7 @@
 public abstract class DBAbstractFuncExpr extends DBColumnExpr
 {
     private final static long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+    private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(DBAbstractFuncExpr.class);
   
     protected final DBColumnExpr expr;
     protected final DBColumn     updateColumn; // optional
@@ -156,13 +160,37 @@
     {
         // Get Template
         if (params != null)
-        {   // Replace Params
-            DataType dataType = expr.getDataType();
+        {   // Replace Params 
             for (int i = 0; i < params.length; i++)
-            {   // String test  =(params[i] != null) ? params[i].toString() : "";
-                String value = getObjectValue(dataType, params[i], CTX_DEFAULT, ",");
+            {   // Detect placeholder and data type
+                DataType paramDataType = expr.getDataType();
+                int idx;
+                String ph = "{"+String.valueOf(i);
+                if ((idx=template.indexOf(ph))>=0) {
+                    // param found
+                    idx += ph.length();
+                    int end = template.indexOf('}', idx);
+                    if (end<idx)
+                        throw new InvalidArgumentException("template", template); 
+                    // check if type is specified
+                    if (template.charAt(idx)==':')
+                    {   // DataType is specified
+                        String typeName = ((end>=idx) ? template.substring(idx+1, end) : null);
+                        DataType dataType = ((typeName!=null) ? DataType.valueOf(typeName) : null);
+                        if (dataType!=null)
+                            paramDataType = dataType;
+                    }
+                    // complete placeholder
+                    ph += template.substring(idx, end+1);
+                    
+                } else {
+                    log.warn("No placeholder found in template {} for paramter {}", template, i);
+                    continue;
+                }
+                // get param and replace      
+                String paramAsString = getObjectValue(paramDataType, params[i], CTX_DEFAULT, ",");
                 // template = template.replaceAll("\\{" + String.valueOf(i) + "\\}", value);
-                template = StringUtils.replaceAll(template, "{"+ String.valueOf(i) + "}", value);
+                template = StringUtils.replaceAll(template, ph, paramAsString);
             }
         }
         // Get Prefix and Postfix
diff --git a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/h2/DBDatabaseDriverH2.java b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/h2/DBDatabaseDriverH2.java
index 5b168ba..67289ec 100644
--- a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/h2/DBDatabaseDriverH2.java
+++ b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/h2/DBDatabaseDriverH2.java
@@ -268,6 +268,7 @@
             case SQL_FUNC_CEILING:            return "ceiling(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_FLOOR:              return "floor(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_MODULO:             return "mod(?,{0})";
+            case SQL_FUNC_FORMAT:             return "format(?, {0:VARCHAR})";
             // Date
             case SQL_FUNC_DAY:                return "day(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_MONTH:              return "month(?)";
diff --git a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/hsql/DBDatabaseDriverHSql.java b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/hsql/DBDatabaseDriverHSql.java
index 1ae3104..72a2f03 100644
--- a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/hsql/DBDatabaseDriverHSql.java
+++ b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/hsql/DBDatabaseDriverHSql.java
@@ -160,6 +160,7 @@
             case SQL_FUNC_CEILING:      return "ceiling(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_FLOOR:        return "floor(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_MODULO:       return "mod(?,{0})";
+            case SQL_FUNC_FORMAT:       return "TO_CHAR(?, {0:VARCHAR})";
             // Date
             case SQL_FUNC_DAY:          return "day(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_MONTH:        return "month(?)";
diff --git a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/mysql/DBDatabaseDriverMySQL.java b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/mysql/DBDatabaseDriverMySQL.java
index 7b57ba5..11c9859 100644
--- a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/mysql/DBDatabaseDriverMySQL.java
+++ b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/mysql/DBDatabaseDriverMySQL.java
@@ -1028,6 +1028,7 @@
             case SQL_FUNC_CEILING:            return "ceiling(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_FLOOR:              return "floor(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_MODULO:             return "mod(?,{0})";
+            case SQL_FUNC_FORMAT:             return "format(?, {0:INTEGER})"; /* TODO: supports only decimal places. Add support for a format string */
             // Date
             case SQL_FUNC_DAY:                return "day(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_MONTH:              return "month(?)";
diff --git a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/oracle/DBDatabaseDriverOracle.java b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/oracle/DBDatabaseDriverOracle.java
index 32556df..c25e7b9 100644
--- a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/oracle/DBDatabaseDriverOracle.java
+++ b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/oracle/DBDatabaseDriverOracle.java
@@ -189,6 +189,7 @@
             case SQL_FUNC_CEILING:              return "ceil(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_FLOOR:                return "floor(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_MODULO:               return "mod(?,{0})";
+            case SQL_FUNC_FORMAT:               return "TO_CHAR(?, {0:VARCHAR})";
             // Date
             case SQL_FUNC_DAY:                  return oracle8Compatibilty ? "to_number(to_char(?,'DD'))"   : "extract(day from ?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_MONTH:                return oracle8Compatibilty ? "to_number(to_char(?,'MM'))"   : "extract(month from ?)";
diff --git a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/postgresql/DBDatabaseDriverPostgreSQL.java b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/postgresql/DBDatabaseDriverPostgreSQL.java
index ce279b5..39965e5 100644
--- a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/postgresql/DBDatabaseDriverPostgreSQL.java
+++ b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/postgresql/DBDatabaseDriverPostgreSQL.java
@@ -368,6 +368,7 @@
             case SQL_FUNC_CEILING:            return "ceiling(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_FLOOR:              return "floor(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_MODULO:             return "mod(?,{0})";
+            case SQL_FUNC_FORMAT:             return "format({0:VARCHAR}, ?)";
             // Date
 			case SQL_FUNC_DAY:                return "extract(day from ?)";
 			case SQL_FUNC_MONTH:              return "extract(month from ?)";
diff --git a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/sqlite/DBDatabaseDriverSQLite.java b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/sqlite/DBDatabaseDriverSQLite.java
index a516c1e..d038427 100644
--- a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/sqlite/DBDatabaseDriverSQLite.java
+++ b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/sqlite/DBDatabaseDriverSQLite.java
@@ -349,6 +349,7 @@
             case SQL_FUNC_CEILING:          return "ceiling(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_FLOOR:            return "floor(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_MODULO:           return "mod(?,{0})";
+            case SQL_FUNC_FORMAT:           return "printf({0:VARCHAR}, ?)";
             // Date
             case SQL_FUNC_DAY:              return "day(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_MONTH:            return "month(?)";
diff --git a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/sqlserver/DBDatabaseDriverMSSQL.java b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/sqlserver/DBDatabaseDriverMSSQL.java
index 4804f5c..d013245 100644
--- a/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/sqlserver/DBDatabaseDriverMSSQL.java
+++ b/empire-db/src/main/java/org/apache/empire/db/sqlserver/DBDatabaseDriverMSSQL.java
@@ -337,6 +337,7 @@
             case SQL_FUNC_CEILING:            return "ceiling(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_FLOOR:              return "floor(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_MODULO:             return "((?) % {0})";
+            case SQL_FUNC_FORMAT:             return "format(?, {0:VARCHAR})";
             // Date
             case SQL_FUNC_DAY:                return "day(?)";
             case SQL_FUNC_MONTH:              return "month(?)";