Oracle ABS() function

Description

The ABS() function is used to calculate the absolute value of an expression.

The function takes any numeric or nonnumeric data type (can be implicitly converted to a numeric data type) as an argument.
The function returns the same data type as the numeric data type of the argument.

Syntax:

 ABS(N); 

Parameters:

Pictorial Presentation of ABS() function

Example: ABS() function using positive value

The example below shows that, the oracle statement will return the absolute value of a positive number specified in the argument.

SELECT ABS(5) FROM dual;

Here is the result.

    ABS(5)
----------
         5

Example: ABS() function using negative value

The example below shows that, the oracle statement will return the absolute value of a negative number defined in the argument.

SELECT ABS(-5) FROM dual;

Here is the output.

    ABS(5)
----------
         5

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