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CAST function [Data type conversion]

Returns the value of an expression converted to a supplied data type.

CAST( expression AS datatype )

expression    The expression to be converted.

data type    The target data type.

If you do not indicate a length for character string types, the database server chooses an appropriate length. If neither precision nor scale is specified for a DECIMAL conversion, the database server selects appropriate values.

• CONVERT function [Data type conversion]
• LEFT function [String]

• SQL/2003    Core feature.

The following function ensures a string is used as a date:

SELECT CAST( '2000-10-31' AS DATE );

The value of the expression 1 + 2 is calculated, and the result is then cast into a single-character string.

SELECT CAST( 1 + 2 AS CHAR );

You can use the CAST function to shorten strings

SELECT CAST ( 'Surname' AS CHAR(5) );