Why the script below returns NULL instead of 0?
DECLARE #number BIGINT = 0;
SELECT NULLIF(#number, '');
According to the MSDN, it should return 0:
NULLIF
Returns a null value if the two specified expressions are equal.
For SQL server, 0 and '' is considered the same (=equal)? What is the logic behind?
When an operator combines two expressions of different data types, the rules for data type precedence specify that the data type with the lower precedence is converted to the data type with the higher precedence.
SELECT CONVERT(bigint, '')
SELECT CONVERT(float, '')
SELECT CONVERT(date, '')
0
0
1900-01-01
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/data-types/data-type-precedence-transact-sql
As BOL states: "the rules for data type precedence specify that the data type with the lower precedence is converted to the data type with the higher precedence."
You've got two different datatypes, bigint and nvarchar. In order to compare the two, they have to be the same datatype. Following the rule described, the nvarchar is implicitly converted to bigint. Try select convert(bigint, ''), you'll find it results in 0. So they are the same.
This script should return null and it is true!
The reason behind it is '' is a string, so it will get implicitly casted to an integer value when comparing it with an integer as you are doing now!
In general, you're asking for trouble when you're comparing values of different data types, since implicit conversions happen behind the scene.
This is the result of implicit conversion. In some cases a string value can be converted to an integer (such as empty string is converted to 0).
Essentially SQL Server tries to match the data type of the two expressions first, then it checks the values.
DECLARE #number BIGINT = 0;
SELECT
CONVERT(BIGINT, '')
, NULLIF(#number, '')
, NULLIF(#number, CONVERT(BIGINT, ''))
It has converted '' to the integer which is 0, as integer has higher precedence in data type. Check the example below how '' become 0
SELECT CONVERT(INT, '') -- 0
SELECT CAST('' AS INT) -- 0
Related
I am trying to concatenate two integer values with hyphen in between. So when I try to do the same, SQL gives me the error.
Conversion failed when converting the varchar value '30-45' to data type int.
NOTE:
Also, the second value for concatenation can be null so in that case, a hyphen should not be concatenated.
example
from1 = 30
to1 = 45
case
to1 is null
then from1
else CONCAT(from1, '-' + nullif(to1,'')) end
AS age
//This works but shows 3045 instead of 30-45.
concat(from, '-', to) AS age
//This doesn't work out as it gives the error 'Conversion failed when converting the varchar value '30-45' to data type int.'
Thanks for the help in advance and looking forward to it.
DECLARE #FROM INT=30;
DECLARE #TO INT=45;
SELECT CAST(#FROM AS VARCHAR(2))+'-'+CAST(ISNULL(#TO,'') AS VARCHAR(2));
SQL is trying to convert your phrase to int probably because it's part of CASE statement. It uses the first route to determine the output type.
In your case- you put NULL as the first route option in your CASE, so it is determined as int. try putting instead of it this: CAST(NULL AS VARCHAR(10))
It seems that for some reason you think that strings that contain mathematical expressions are resolved as said expression, not an as literal string. Thus if you have the varchar value '30-45' you think it'll return the int value -15; this isn't true. This in fact isn't true in any language, let alone T-SQL.
For what you have, in your ELSE the '-' isn't a minus... It's a string... - is a minus. If you want to substract a number from another then it's a basic maths expression: a - b. You're effectively doing CONVERT(varchar,a) + '-' + CONVERT(varchar,b)... Just have your ELSE as the following:
from1 - NULLIF(to1,0)
This will return NULL if from1 has the value NULL, or to1 has the value NULL or 0.
Please check below code. It's working
example
#from1 = 30
#to1 = 45
IF #to1 is null
SELECT #from1
ELSE
SELECT CONCAT(#from1, '-' , nullif(#to1,'')) as age
I am trying to compare records between two different SQL tables/databases in my Node project and have to do some transformation in order to compare the values.
In one database (MariaDB) the value is of type INT, and looks like this: 516542
In the other (SQL Server) database the value I need to match to is of type char(21), and looks like this: 00000516542-000
What I tried doing was this:
WHERE (REPLACE(LEFT( LM301.DOCNUMBR, CHARINDEX('-', LM301.DOCNUMBR)), '-', '')) = 516542
This works for some records, but for others I get this error:
"The conversion of the varchar value '0004000009123' overflowed an int
column."
If I pass the first value in as a string ('516542') it doesn't match at all.
How can I handle this scenario?
The error you're getting is at least correct. But from your example i can't determine whether the conversion is right or not.
Basically, somewhere in your CHAR(21). There a value which is greater than int32, or SQL Server int type, in value. This value is: 2,147,483,648. 4,000,009,123 is greater than this max value as specified by the error message.
The DBMS, with this where statement, will try to do the operation and compare to all records, and it runs into an overflow. You could do a string compare instead. Or try an explicit conversion and convert it to bigint.
WHERE CONVERT(BIGINT, (REPLACE(LEFT( LM301.DOCNUMBR, CHARINDEX('-', LM301.DOCNUMBR)), '-', ''))) = 516542
It's doing an implicit cast to INT because that's your compare type, then overflows. Making the conversion explicit allows you to determine the datatype instead.
Basically what's happening:
IF ('21474836480' >= 100) --Implicit conversion: Error and prints false
PRINT 'True'
ELSE
PRINT 'False'
IF ('214748364' >= 100) --Implicit Conversion: True
PRINT 'True'
ELSE
PRINT 'False'
IF (CONVERT(BIGINT, '21474836480') >= 100) --Explicit Conversion: Prints True
PRINT 'True'
ELSE
PRINT 'False'
So wrapping your value in an explicit conversion should resolve your error.
You need to do explicit type conversation with TRY_CONVERT():
TRY_CONVERT(BIGINT, LEFT(LM301.DOCNUMBR, CHARINDEX('-', LM301.DOCNUMBR + '-') - 1)) = 516542
TRY_CONVERT() will return NULL if conversation fail.
You don't need to use replace(), you can subtract the position.
EDIT : Try_CONVERT() is available from 2012 +. For older version you can do :
(CONVERT(BIGINT, LEFT(LM301.DOCNUMBR, CHARINDEX('-', LM301.DOCNUMBR) - 1)) = 516542 AND
CHARINDEX('-', LM301.DOCNUMBR) > 0)
)
Note : This might fail if DOCNUMBR doesn't have numeric value prior to -.
I'm getting the "conversion" error in a SQL Select query.
The error is:
Msg 248, Level 16, State 1, Line 6
The conversion of the nvarchar value '7000952682' overflowed an int column.
Problem is, there are no int columns in my table!
Here is the table structure:
Here is the query:
If I set the value of #SU to NULL, then it does return all rows as expected. When the value is set to the string value of '7000952682' I get the error.
Why is SQL Server trying to convert the nvarchar value to an int?
All branches of a CASE expression have to have the same type. In this case (no pun intended), it looks like SQL Server is using an integer type and doing an implicit cast of SU to integer. The problem is that the max value for an integer in SQL Server is roughly 2.1 billion, and the example you gave is using the value 7000952682, hence the overflow.
You have two options here. You could make everything varchar:
CASE WHEN #SU IS NULL OR #SU = '' THEN '1' ELSE [SU] END
Or, you could make everything numeric, using a type that won't overflow, e.g.
CASE WHEN #SU IS NULL OR #SU = ''
THEN CAST(1 AS numeric(20, 6))
ELSE CAST([SU] AS numeric(20, 6)) END
As a side note, you could write the first part of your CASE expression more succinctly using COALESCE:
CASE WHEN COALESCE(#SU, '') = '' THEN '1' ELSE [SU] END
Don't use case in the where clause. The logic is more simply and accurately expressed as:
where (#su is null or #su = '' or #su = su)
The reserve column is a varchar, to perform sums on it I want to cast it to a deciaml.
But the SQL below gives me an error
select
cast(Reserve as decimal)
from MyReserves
Error converting data type varchar to numeric.
I added the isnumeric and not null to try and avoid this error but it still persists, any ideas why?
select
cast(Reserve as decimal)
from MyReserves
where isnumeric(Reserve ) = 1
and MyReserves is not null
See here: CAST and IsNumeric
Try this:
WHERE IsNumeric(Reserve + '.0e0') = 1 AND reserve IS NOT NULL
UPDATE
Default of decimal is (18,0), so
declare #i nvarchar(100)='12121212121211212122121'--length is>18
SELECT ISNUMERIC(#i) --gives 1
SELECT CAST(#i as decimal)--throws an error
Gosh, nobody seems to have explained this correctly. SQL is a descriptive language. It does not specify the order of operations.
The problem that you are (well, were) having is that the where does not do the filtering before the conversion takes place. Order of operations, though, is guaranteed for a case statement. So, the following will work:
select cast(case when isnumeric(Reserve) = 1 then Reserve end as decimal)
from MyReserves
where isnumeric(Reserve ) = 1 and MyReserves is not null
The issue has nothing to do with the particular numeric format you are converting to or with the isnumeric() function. It is simply that the ordering of operations is not guaranteed.
It seems that isnumeric has some Problems:
http://www.sqlhacks.com/Retrieve/Isnumeric-problems
(via internet archive)
According to that Link you can solve it like that:
select
cast(Reserve as decimal)
from MyReserves
where MyReserves is not null
and MyReserves * 1 = MyReserves
Use try_cast (sql 2012)
select
try_cast(Reserve as decimal)
from MyReserves
IsNumeric is a problem child -- SQL 2012 and later has TRY_CAST and TRY_CONVERT
If you're on an earlier version then you can write a function that'll convert to a decimal (or NULL if it won't convert). This uses the XML conversion functions that don't throw errors when the number won't fit ;)
-- Create function to convert a varchar to a decimal (returns null if it fails)
IF EXISTS( SELECT * FROM sys.objects WHERE object_id = OBJECT_ID( N'[dbo].[ToDecimal]' ) AND type IN( N'FN',N'IF',N'TF',N'FS',N'FT' ))
DROP FUNCTION [dbo].[ToDecimal];
GO
CREATE FUNCTION ToDecimal
(
#Value VARCHAR(MAX)
)
RETURNS DECIMAL(18,8)
AS
BEGIN
-- Uses XML/XPath to convert #Value to Decimal because it returns NULL it doesn't cast correctly
DECLARE #ValueAsXml XML
SELECT #ValueAsXml = Col FROM (SELECT (SELECT #Value as Value FOR XMl RAW, ELEMENTS) AS Col) AS test
DECLARE #Result DECIMAL(38,10)
-- XML/XPath will return NULL if the VARCHAR can't be converted to a DECIMAL(38,10)
SET #Result = #ValueAsXml.value('(/row/Value)[1] cast as xs:decimal?', 'DECIMAL(38,10)')
RETURN CASE -- Check if the number is within the range for a DECIMAL(18,8)
WHEN #Result >= -999999999999999999.99999999 AND #Result <= 999999999999999999.99999999
THEN CONVERT(DECIMAL(18,8),#Result)
ELSE
NULL
END
END
Then just change your query to:
select dbo.ToDecimal(Reserve) from MyReserves
isnumeric is not 100% reliable in SQL - see this question Why does ISNUMERIC('.') return 1?
I would guess that you have value in the reserve column that passes the isnumeric test but will not cast to decimal.
Just a heads up on isnumeric; if the string contains some numbers and an 'E' followed by some numbers, this is viewed as an exponent. Example, select isnumeric('123E0') returns 1.
I had this same problem and it turned out to be scientific notation such as '1.72918E-13' To find this just do where Reserve LIKE '%E%'. Try bypassing these and see if it works. You'll have to write code to convert these to something usable or reformat your source file so it doesn't store any numbers using scientific notation.
IsNumeric is possibly not ideal in your scenario as from the highlighted Note on this MSDN page it says "ISNUMERIC returns 1 for some characters that are not numbers, such as plus (+), minus (-), and valid currency symbols such as the dollar sign ($)."
Also there is a nice article here which further discusses ISNUMERIC.
Try (for example):
select
cast(Reserve as decimal(10,2))
from MyReserves
Numeric/Decimal generally want a precision an scale.
I am also facing this issue and I solved by below method. I am sharing this because it may helpful to some one.
declare #g varchar (50)
set #g=char(10)
select isnumeric(#g),#g, isnumeric(replace(replace(#g,char(13),char(10)),char(10),''))
how can I accomplish:
select * from table where column_value is int
I know I can probably inner join to the system tables and type tables but I'm wondering if there's a more elegant way.
Note that column_value is a varchar that "could" have an int, but not necessarily.
Maybe I can just cast it and trap the error? But again, that seems like a hack.
select * from table
where column_value not like '[^0-9]'
If negative ints are allowed, you need something like
where column_value like '[+-]%'
and substring(column_value,patindex('[+-]',substring(column_value,1))+1,len(column_value))
not like '[^0-9]'
You need more code if column_value can be an integer that exceeds the limits of the "int" type, and you want to exclude such cases.
Here if you want to implement your custom function
CREATE Function dbo.IsInteger(#Value VARCHAR(18))
RETURNS BIT
AS
BEGIN
RETURN ISNULL(
(SELECT CASE WHEN CHARINDEX('.', #Value) > 0 THEN
CASE WHEN CONVERT(int, PARSENAME(#Value, 1)) <> 0 THEN 0 ELSE 1 END
ELSE 1
END
WHERE ISNUMERIC(#Value + 'e0') = 1), 0)
END
ISNUMERIC returns 1 when the input
expression evaluates to a valid
integer, floating point number, money
or decimal type; otherwise it returns
0. A return value of 1 guarantees that expression can be converted to one of
these numeric types.
I would do a UDF as Svetlozar Angelov suggests, but I would check for ISNUMERIC first (and return 0 if not), and then check for column_value % 1 = 0 to see if it's an integer.
Here's what the body might look like. You have to put the modulo logic in a separate branch because it will throw an exception if the value isn't numeric.
DECLARE #RV BIT
IF ISNUMERIC(#value) BEGIN
IF CAST(#value AS NUMERIC) % 1 = 0 SET #RV = 1
ELSE SET #RV = 0
END
ELSE SET #RV = 0
RETURN #RV
This should handle all cases without throwing any exceptions:
--This handles dollar-signs, commas, decimal-points, and values too big or small,
-- all while safely returning an int.
DECLARE #IntString as VarChar(50) = '$1,000.'
SELECT CAST((CASE WHEN --This IsNumeric check here does most of the heavy lifting. The rest is Integer-Specific
ISNUMERIC(#IntString) = 1
--Only allow Int-related characters. This will exclude things like 'e' and other foreign currency characters.
AND #IntString NOT LIKE '%[^ $,.\-+0-9]%' ESCAPE '\'--'
--Checks that the value is not out of bounds for an Integer.
AND CAST(REPLACE(REPLACE(#IntString,'$',''),',','') as Decimal(38)) BETWEEN -2147483648 AND 2147483647
--This allows values with decimal-points for count as an Int, so long as there it is not a fractional value.
AND CAST(REPLACE(REPLACE(#IntString,'$',''),',','') as Decimal(38)) = CAST(REPLACE(REPLACE(#IntString,'$',''),',','') as Decimal(38,2))
--This will safely convert values with decimal points to casting later as an Int.
THEN CAST(REPLACE(REPLACE(#IntString,'$',''),',','') as Decimal(10))
END) as Int)[Integer]
Throw this into a Scalar UDF and call it ReturnInt().
If the value comes back as NULL, then it's not an int (so there's your IsInteger() requirement)
If you don't like typing "WHERE ReturnInt(SomeValue) IS NOT NULL", you could throw it into another scalar UDF called IsInt() to call this function and simply return "ReturnInt(SomeValue) IS NOT NULL".
The cool thing is, the UDF can serve double duty by returning the "safely" converted int value.
Just because something can be an int doesn't mean casting it as an int won't throw a huge exception. This takes care of that for you.
Also, I'd avoid the other solutions because this universal approach will handle commas, decimals, dollar signs, and checks the acceptable Int value's range while the other solutions do not - or they require multiple SET operations that prevent you from using the logic in a Scalar-Function for maximum performance.
See the examples below and test them against my code and others:
--Proves that appending "e0" or ".0e0" is NOT a good idea.
select ISNUMERIC('$1' + 'e0')--Returns: 0.
select ISNUMERIC('1,000' + 'e0')--Returns: 0.
select ISNUMERIC('1.0' + '.0e0')--Returns: 0.
--While these are numeric, they WILL break your code
-- if you try to cast them directly as int.
select ISNUMERIC('1,000')--Returns: 1.
select CAST('1,000' as Int)--Will throw exception.
select ISNUMERIC('$1')--Returns: 1.
select CAST('$1' as Int)--Will throw exception.
select ISNUMERIC('10.0')--Returns: 1.
select CAST('10.0' as Int)--Will throw exception.
select ISNUMERIC('9999999999223372036854775807')--Returns: 1. This is why I use Decimal(38) as Decimal defaults to Decimal(18).
select CAST('9999999999223372036854775807' as Int)--Will throw exception.
Update:
I read a comment here that you want to be able to parse a value like '123.' into an Integer. I have updated my code to handle this as well.
Note: This converts "1.0", but returns null on "1.9".
If you want to allow for rounding, then tweak the logic in the "THEN" clause to add Round() like so:
ROUND(CAST(REPLACE(REPLACE(#IntString,'$',''),',','') as Decimal(10)), 0)
You must also remove the "AND" that checks for "decimal-points" to allow for Rounding or Truncation.
Why not use the following and test for 1?
DECLARE #TestValue nvarchar(MAX)
SET #TestValue = '1.04343234e5'
SELECT CASE WHEN ISNUMERIC(#TestValue) = 1
THEN CASE WHEN ROUND(#TestValue,0,1) = #TestValue
THEN 1
ELSE 0
END
ELSE null
END AS Analysis
If you are purely looking to verify a string is all digits and not just CAST-able to INT you can do this terrible, terrible thing:
select LEN(
REPLACE( REPLACE( REPLACE( REPLACE( REPLACE( REPLACE( REPLACE( REPLACE( REPLACE( REPLACE(
'-1.223344556677889900e-1'
,'0','') ,'1','') ,'2','') ,'3','') ,'4','') ,'5','') ,'6','') ,'7','') ,'8','') ,'9','')
)
It returns 0 when the string was empty or pure digits.
To make it a useful check for "poor-man's" Integer you'd have to deal with empty string, and an initial negative sign. And manually make sure it isn't too long for your variety of INTEGER.