SQL ABS() function

Absolute value function

SQL ABS() function is used to get the absolute value of a number passed as an argument.

Syntax:

ABS(expression)

Parameters:

MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle and SQL Server

All of above platforms support the SQL syntax of ABS().

SQL ABS() function: Pictorial presentation

Example :

To get the absolute value of the number -17.36 from the DUAL table, the following SQL statement can be used :

SELECT ABS(-17.36)
FROM dual;

Output:

ABS(-17.36)
-----------
      17.36

SQL ABS() function with distinct clause

Sample table: agents

To get unique absolute value of the column 'commission' after multiplying by (-1) with a column alias "DISTINCT(ABS())" from the 'agents' table, the following SQL statement can be used :

SELECT DISTINCT(ABS(commission*(-1))) "DISTINCT(ABS())"
FROM agents;

Output:

DISTINCT(ABS())
---------------
            .15
            .11
            .14
            .13
            .12

Note: Outputs of the said SQL statement shown here is taken by using Oracle Database 10g Express Edition.

Here is a slide presentation which covers the SQL arithmetic functions.

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