Final answer:
The TO_DATE function in Oracle12c allows users to enter dates in different formats and converts them to the Oracle default internal date format.
Step-by-step explanation:
The function you are referring to is the TO_DATE function in Oracle12c. This function allows a user to enter a date in various formats, such as 'DD-MON-YYYY', 'YYYY/MM/DD', and so forth, and converts the input to Oracle's default internal date storage format. This is particularly useful for ensuring that date-related data remains consistent and is stored in a standardized way within the database, no matter how the date information is entered by the users.