Introduction To TSQL

Introduction To SQL
Unit 10
Unit 10

Modern Business
Technology
Developed by
Michael Hotek
Functions

• In addition to the standard SQL

statements, SQL Server and most
other DBMSs include a set of
functions to perform additional
processing

• The functions fit into 6 categories

– string
– conversion
– date
– mathematical
– aggregate
– general
Functions

• To determine which functions are

available for your particular DBMS,
you should consult the online help for
your DBMS

• Overview of Books Online

String Functions

• The string functions we will discuss

are:
– substring
– right
– upper
– lower
– charindex
– patindex
– ascii
– char
– ltrim
– rtrim
– space
– str
– soundex
– replicate
String Functions

• Substring gives you the ability to

extract a portion of a string from a
another string or piece of data
substring(expression,start,length)
substring('abcde',2,3)
Results
bcd

• Right returns the right portion of a

string
right(expression,length)
right('abcde',3)
Results
'cde
String Functions

• Upper converts a string to upper

case
upper(expression)
upper('abcde')
Results
ABCDE

• Lower converts a string to lower case

lower(expression)
lower('aBCDE')
Results
abcde
String Functions

• charindex returns the starting

position of a string the specify
charindex(pattern,expression)
charindex('bc','abcde'
Results
2

• patindex performs the same

operation as charindex, but can also
include wildcard characters and can
be used on text columns
patindex(pattern,expression)
patindex('%bc%')
Results
2
String Functions

• ascii converts a character to it's

equivalent ASCII value
ascii(expression)
ascii('T')
Results
84

• char takes an ascii value and returns

the corresponding character
char(expression)
char(84)
Results
T
String Functions

• ltrim and rtrim remove leading or

trailing spaces. ltrim from the left
and rtrim from the right
ltrim(expression)
ltrim(' abcde')
Results
abcde

rtrim(expression)
rtrim('abcde ')
Results
abcde

ltrim(rtrim(' abcde '))

Results
abcde
String Functions

• Space constructs a string of the

number of spaces specifiied
space(expression)
space(2)
Results
2 spaces

• Str will convert a number to a string

and round it off to the specified
number of decimal places
str(numeric_value,length,decimals)
str(456.56,5,1)
Results
456.6
String Functions

• soundex converts a character

expression to a four character code.
This is used to find similar words. It
ignores any vowels
soundex(expression)
soundex('smith'), soundex('smythe')
Results
'S530'

• replicate creates a string composed

of the number of copies of a string
that you specify
replicate(expression,number)
replicate('abc',3)
Results
abcabcabc
Converting Data

• Some data within SQL Server is

implicitly converted

• A money datatype will convert to a

real or a float without any
intervention

• Sometimes though, we want a

number to be treated as a character
or vice versa

• To do this we need to use the

convert function
Convert

• The string function str gave us a

quick way to convert a number to a
string

• The convert function gives us much

more control over the exact datatype
the data is converted to.

• convert(datatype,expression [,style])

select title_id, 'The number of books

sold: ' +
convert(varchar(10),ytd_sales) from
titles where title_id like 'PS20%'
title_id
-------- ------------------------------------
PS2091 The number of books sold: 2045

(1 row(s) affected)
Convert

• By using the third optional argument

of the convert function, you can
utilize some formatting while
converting data.

• This argument is used when

converting a date to a string

select convert(varchar(8),pubdate,2)
from titles where title_id = 'MC3026'

Results
91.06.24
Date Conversion

• Some of the most commonly used

values are as follows:
– 2 yy.mm.dd
– 3 dd/mm/yy
– 4 dd.mm.yy
– 5 dd-mm-yy
– 102 yyyy.mm.dd
– 103 dd/mm/yyyy
– 104 dd.mm.yyyy
– 105 dd-mm-yyyy

• Consult your online manual for other

values
Date Conversion

• A datetime value can be directly

compared to a string datatype that
has a datetime value, because the
string can be implicitly converted

select title_id from titles where pubdate

= '6/30/86'

Results
PC1035

• The built in function getdate() will

return the current date and time from
OS where the DBMS resides
Date Functions

• Sometimes we only want a portion of

a date or we want to do date
arithmetic

• To do this we will use the following

functions:
– datename
– datepart
– dateadd
– datediff
Date Functions

• datename will return the name of a

specified part of a date
datename(param,date)
datename(mm,'2/12/96')
Results
February

• The parameter values are as follows:

– yy year
– qq quarter
– mm month
– dw day of week
– dy day of year
– dd day
– wk week
Date Functions

• datepart will return the numeric part

of a date
datepart(param,date)
datepart(mm,'2/12/96')
Results
6

• dateadd adds or subtracts a

specified amount of time to a date
dateadd(param,number,date)
dateadd(dd,5,'6/5/85')
Results
6/10/85

• To subtract from a date, specify a

negative value: dateadd(dd,-
5,'6/10/85')
Date Functions

• datediff is used to calculate the

difference between two dates of
times
datediff(param,start_date,end_date)
datediff(dd,'6/10/85','6/20/85')
Results
10

• Available paramters for datediff are:

– yy year
– qq quarted
– mm month
– dw day of week
– dd day
– wk week
– hh hour
Year 2000

• SQL Server is year 2000 compliant

• It accomplishes this by utilizing a

comparison technique

• If you enter a two digit year less than

50, SQL Server assume 20xx.

• If the two digit year is greater than or

equal to 50, SQL Server will assume
19xx

• If you send it a four digit year, it

stores the entire year in the database
thus avoiding any confusion.
Mathematical Functions

• Mathematical functions allow to you

manipulate and do calculations on
numeric data. The functions we will
examine are:
– abs
– ceiling
– floor
– round
– exp
– rand
– log
– pi
– power
– sqrt
– sin
– cos
– tan
Mathematical Functions

• abs returns the absolute value of a

number
– abs(number)
– abs(-59)
– Result
– 59

• round returns a value rounded off to

the number of digits specified
– round(number,digits)
– round(123.4567,2)
– Result
– 123.4600
• You can round down by specifying a
negative value
• The result is padded with zeros to
keep the total number of digits the
same
Mathematical Functions

• ceiling returns the next highest

integer value
– ceiling(number)
– ceiling(123.4)
– Results
– 124

• floor returns the next lowest integer

value
– floor(number)
– floor(123.4)
– Results
– 123
Mathematical Functions

• exp raises the constant e to the

specified power
exp(number)
exp(0)
Results
1

• log returns the natural logarithm of

the specified number
log(number)
log(1)
Results
0
Mathematical Functions

• rand returns will generate a set of

pseudo-random numbers
rand([seed_value])
rand(39)
Result

• The rand function is seeded at server

startup by the DBMS and uses the
system clock as part of the seed
value

• You can ensure a repeatable

sequence by using the same seed
value and making sure that only one
person accesses the rand function
while the repeatable sequence is
needed
Mathematical Functions

• pi returns the mathematical constant pi

– pi()
– Results
– 3.1415926…

• power raises a number to a specified

power
– power(number,power)
– power(10,3)
– Results
– 1000

• sqrt returns the square root of a

number
– sqrt(number)
– sqrt(100)
– Results
– 10
Mathematical Functions

• sin, cos, and tan return the sine,

cosine, and tangent of an angle

• The angle is measured in radians

and not degrees

sin(radians)
sin( )
Results

• You can also use the degrees and

radians functions to convert values
from one to another
Aggregate Functions

• We've already touched on most of

the aggregate functions previously,
but a brief overview follows

count(*) number of selected rows

count(column) number of non null rows
sum(column) total of all values in a column
avg(column) average of aq column
max(column) maximum value in a column
min(column) minimum value in a column
Isnull

• The isnull function can be used to avoid

some of the side effects of null values

• This function substitute a specified value

for a null

isnull(expression,value)
select title_id, isnull(notes, 'No notes for
title') from titles
title_id

-------- -----------------------------------------------------------------
BU1032 An overview of available database systems with ...

BU1111 Helpful hints on how to use your electronic resources to ...

BU2075 The latest medical and psychological techniques for living...

BU7832 Annotated analysis of what computers can do for you: ...

MC2222 Favorite recipes for quick, easy, and elegant meals.

MC3021 Traditional French gourmet recipes adapted for modern...

MC3026 No notes for title

...
(18 row(s) affected)
Unit 10 Review

• The functions fit into 6 categories

– string
– conversion
– date
– mathematical
– aggregate
– general
• You can convert data from one data type to
another
• Most of the functions you will use are the
standard aggregates of count(*), sum, min,
and max
• Isnull allows a graceful way of handling nulls
Unit 10 Exercises

• There are no exercises for this unit