T-Sql numeric variables error conversion - sql-server

It is really strange how auto convert between numeric data behaves in T-Sql
Declare #fdays as float(12)
Declare #mAmount As Money
Declare #fDaysi as float(12)
Set #fdays =3
Set #fdaysi =1
Set #mAmount=527228.52
Set #mAmount = #fdaysi * #mAmount/#fDays
Select #mAmount, 527228.52/3
The result of this computation is
175742.8281 175742.840000
Does this occur because money and float are not actually the same kind of numeric data? Float is Approximate Numeric and Money is Exact Numeric

Money and Decimal are fixed numeric datatypes while Float is an
approximate numeric datatype. Results of mathematical operations on
floating point numbers can seem unpredictable, especially when
rounding is involved. Be sure you understand the significance of the
difference before you use Float!
Also, Money doesn't provide any advantages over Decimal. If fractional
units up to 5 decimal places are not valid in your currency or
database schema, just use Decimal with the appropriate precision and
scale.
ref link : http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1408159-391-1.aspx
Should you choose the MONEY or DECIMAL(x,y) datatypes in SQL Server?
https://dba.stackexchange.com/questions/12916/datatypes-in-sql-server-difference-between-similar-dataypes-numeric-money

float [ (n) ]
Where n is the number of bits that are used to store the mantissa of the float number in scientific notation and, therefore, dictates the precision and storage size. If n is specified, it must be a value between 1 and 53. The default value of n is 53.
When n in 1-24 then precision is 7 digits.
When n in 25-53 then precision is 15 digits.
So in your example precision is 7 digits, thus first part #fdaysi * #mAmount
rounds result to 7 digits 527228.5. The second part returns 527228.5/3=175742.828 and casting 175742.828 to Money results in 175742.8281. So FLOAT and REAL are approximate data types and sometimes you get such surprises.
DECLARE #f AS FLOAT = '29545428.022495';
SELECT CAST(#f AS NUMERIC(28, 14)) AS value;
The result of this is 29545428.02249500200000 with just a casting.

Related

Weired Behavior of Round function in MSSQL Database for Real column only

I found weird or strange behavior of Round function in MSSQL for real column type. I have tested this issue in Azure SQL DB and SQL Server 2012
Why #number=201604.125 Return 201604.1 ?
Why round(1.12345,10) Return 1.1234500408 ?
-- For Float column it working as expected
-- Declare #number as float,#number1 as float;
Declare #number as real,#number1 as real;
set #number=201604.125;
set #number1=1.12345;
select #number as Realcolumn_Original
,round(#number,2) as Realcolumn_ROUND_2
,round(#number,3) as Realcolumn_ROUND_3
, #number1 as Realcolumn1_Original
,round(#number1,6) as Realcolumn1_ROUND_6
,round(#number1,7) as Realcolumn1_ROUND_7
,round(#number1,8) as Realcolumn1_ROUND_8
,round(#number1,9) as Realcolumn1_ROUND_9
,round(#number1,10) as Realcolumn1_ROUND_10
Output for real column type
I suspect what you are asking here is why does:
DECLARE #n real = 201604.125;
SELECT #n;
Return 201604.1?
First point of call for things like this should be the documentation: Let's start with float and real (Transact-SQL). Firstly we note that:
The ISO synonym for real is float(24).
If we then look further down:
float [ (n) ] Where n is the number of bits that are used to store the
mantissa of the float number in scientific notation and, therefore,
dictates the precision and storage size. If n is specified, it must be
a value between 1 and 53. The default value of n is 53. n value
Precision Storage size
1-24 7 digits 4 bytes
So, now we know that a real (aka a float(24)) has precision of 7. 201604.125 has a precision of 9, that's 2 too many; so off come that 2 and 5 in the return value.
Now, ROUND (Transact-SQL). That states:
Returns a numeric value, rounded to the specified length or precision.
When using real/float those digits aren't actually lost, as such, due to the floating point. When you use ROUND, you are specifically stating "I want this many decimal places". This is why you can then see the .13 and the .125, as you have specifically asked for those. When you just returned the value of #number it had a precision of 7, due to being a real, so 201604.1 was the value returned.

SQL query multiply decimal

I'm trying to multiply two values. One is a decimal and one is numeric.
Example - Total is what I want:
Number Decimal Total
900 1.111 999.9
800 1.25 1000
460 4.25 1955
In my Sql query, I've tried the following:
(ISNUMERIC(UpgradeEmptyNodesPercentageLimitForAllocation) * RawTotalNodes) as ExpectedEmptyNodeCountForUpgrade
However, it always returns Number. How do the above?
Thanks...
Check the scale on your data types, if they are zero then SQL will remove the decimals
DECLARE #d1 DECIMAL(18,0) = 1.111
DECLARE #d2 DECIMAL(18,10) = 1.111
SELECT #d1,#d2
ISNUMERIC is really for evaluating strings, not number types -- and it only returns 0 or 1. I think what you want to do is a CAST of your numeric and/or decimal values to one with more precision, and then multiply. What is affecting the operation is the precision and scale of both factors to your operation, as-stored.
These types, by name, are actually interchangeable - but precision and scale are not.
Try casting both to a NUMERIC of some acceptabe precision and scale, and then multiplying. Or, if you don't have a precision and scale that will always work, then cast to REAL, if that's an option.
Read more on MSDN.

Why does a FLOAT give me a more accurate result than a DECIMAL?

I am looking for a division result that is extremely accurate.
This SQL returns the following results:
SELECT (CAST(297282.26 AS DECIMAL(38, 30)) / CAST(495470.44 AS DECIMAL(38, 30))) AS ResultDecimal
SELECT (CAST(297282.26 AS FLOAT) / CAST(495470.44 AS FLOAT)) AS ResultFloat
Here is the accurate result from WolframAlpha:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=297282.26%2F495470.44
I was under the impression that DECIMAL would be more accurate than FLOAT:
"Because of the approximate nature of the float and real data types, do not use these data types when exact numeric behavior is required, such as in financial applications, in operations involving rounding, or in equality checks. Instead, use the integer, decimal, money, or smallmoney data types."
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms187912(v=sql.105).aspx
Why does the FLOAT calculation give me a result more accurate than when using DECIMAL?
I found the best precision to be when you use:
SELECT (CAST(297282.26 AS DECIMAL(15, 9)) / CAST(495470.44 AS DECIMAL(24, 2))) AS ResultDecimal
This gives a result of
0.599999991926864496699338915153
I think the actual value (to 100 digits) is:
0.5999999919268644966993389151530412187657451370862810705720405842980259326873264124495499670979362562...
Please bear in mind SQL Server defines the maximum precision and scale for division as:
max precision = (p1 - s1 + s2) + MAX(6, s1 + p2 + 1) -- up to 38
max scale = MAX(6, s1 + p2 + 1)
Where p1 & p2 are the precision of the two numbers and s1 & s2 are the scale of the numbers.
In this case the maximum precision is (15-9+2) + MAX(6, 9+24+1) = 8 + 34 = 42.
However SQL Server only allows a maximum precision of 38.
The maximum scale = MAX(6, 9+24+1) = 34
Hopefully you already understand that just because the FLOAT version presents more numbers after the decimal point, doesn't necessarily mean that those are the true numbers. This is about precision, not accuracy.
It is the CAST function itself that causes this loss of precision, not the difference between the FLOAT and DECIMAL data types.
To demonstrate this, compare your previous results to the result of this:
SELECT 297282.26 / 495470.44 AS ResultNoCast
In my version of the query, the presence of a decimal point in the literal numbers tells SQL Server to treat the values as DECIMAL datatype, with appropriate length and precision as determined by the server. The result is more precise than when you CAST explicitly to DECIMAL.
A clue to the reason for this can be found hidden in the official documentation of the CAST function, under Truncating and Rounding Results:
When you convert data types that differ in decimal places, sometimes the result value is truncated and at other times it is rounded. The following table shows the behavior.
From | To | Behavior
numeric | numeric | Round
So the fact that each separate literal value is treated as a NUMERIC (same thing as DECIMAL) on the way in, and is being casted to NUMERIC, causes rounding.
Anticipating your next question a little, if you want a more precise result from the NUMERIC/DECIMAL datatype, you just need to tell SQL Server that each component of the calculation is more precise:
SELECT 297282.26000000 / 495470.44000000 AS ResultSuperPrecise
This appears (from experimentation) to be the most precise I can get: either adding or removing a 0 from either the numerator or denominator makes the result less precise. I'm at a loss to explain why that is, because the result is only 23 digits to the right of the decimal point.
It doesn't give you a more accurate result. I say that because the value is an approximate and not all values will be available to stored in a float. On the other side of that coin though is that float has the possibility of a lot more precision. The maximum precision of a decimal/numeric is 38. https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms187746.aspx
When you look at float though the maximum precision is 53. https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms173773.aspx
Okay, here is what I think is going on.
#philosophicles - I think you are right in that the CAST is causing the problem, but not because I am trying to "convert data types that differ in decimal places".
When I execute the following statement
SELECT CAST((297282.26 / 495470.44) AS DECIMAL(38, 30)) AS ResultDecimal
The accurate result for the calculation is
This has way more than 30 digits after the decimal point, and my data type has scale set to 30. So the CAST rounds the value, then just adds zeros to the end until there are 30 digits. We end up with this:
So the interesting thing is how does the CAST determine up to how many decimals to round or truncate the output? I am not sure, but as #philosophicles pointed out, the scale of the input effects the rounding applied on the output.
SELECT CAST(((297282.26/10000) / (495470.44/10000)) AS DECIMAL(38, 30)) AS ResultDecimal
Thoughts?
Also interesting:
However, in simple terms, precision is lost when the input scales are
high because the result scales need to be dropped to 38 with a
matching precision drop.
https://dba.stackexchange.com/questions/41743/automatic-decimal-rounding-issue
The precision and scale of the numeric data types besides decimal are fixed.
https://dba.stackexchange.com/questions/41743/automatic-decimal-rounding-issue

Why can't I enter an integer value into a decimal field?

I'm trying to write an insert statement for a SQL Server table that inserts the value 1 into a decimal field. The field is of the type decimal(10, 10) which, as far as I understand, means that it can have up to 10 digits altogether, and up to 10 of those digits can be after the decimal point. But, when I try to run the insert statement I get the following error:
Arithmetic overflow error converting int to data type numeric.
If I change the data type of the field to decimal(11, 10), it suddenly works. What am I not understanding here? What am I doing wrong?
decimal(10, 10) means all decimal places, no digits to the left of the decimal point!
see here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa258832(SQL.80).aspx_
decimal[(p[, s])]
p (precision) Specifies the maximum total number of decimal digits
that can be stored, both to the left
and to the right of the decimal point.
The precision must be a value from 1
through the maximum precision. The
maximum precision is 38. The default
precision is 18.
s (scale) Specifies the maximum number of decimal digits that can be
stored to the right of the decimal
point. Scale must be a value from 0
through p. Scale can be specified only
if precision is specified. The default
scale is 0; therefore, 0 <= s <= p.
Maximum storage sizes vary, based on
the precision.
decimal(11,10) gives you 1 digit the the left of the decimal and 10 to the right, so integer 1 fits now!
EDIT
when using: decimal(p,s), think of p as how many total digits (regardless of left or right of the decimal point) you want to store, and s as how many of those p digits should be to the right of the decimal point.
DECIMAL(10,5)= 12345.12345
DECIMAL(10,2)= 12345678.12
DECIMAL(10,10)= .1234567891
DECIMAL(11,10)= 1.1234567891

Is SQL Server 'MONEY' data type a decimal floating point or binary floating point?

I couldn't find anything that rejects or confirms whether SQL Server 'MONEY' data type is a decimal floating point or binary floating point.
In the description it says that MONEY type range is from -2^63 to 2^63 - 1 so this kind of implies that it should be a binary floating point.
But on this page it lists MONEY as "exact" numeric. Which kind of suggests that MONEY might be a decimal floating point (otherwise how is it exact? or what is the definition of exact?)
Then if MONEY is a decimal floating point, then what is the difference between MONEY and DECIMAL(19,4) ?
Neither. If it were an implementation of floating point it would be subject to the same inaccuracies as FLOAT and REAL types. See Floating Point on wikipedia.
MONEY is a fixed point type.
It's one byte smaller than a DECIMAL(19,4), because it has a smaller range (922,337,203,685,477.5808 to 922,337,203,685,477.5807) as opposed to (-10^15+1 to 10^15-1).
To see the differences we can look at the documentation:
Documentation for money:
Data type Range Storage
money -922,337,203,685,477.5808 to 922,337,203,685,477.5807 8 bytes
smallmoney -214,748.3648 to 214,748.3647 4 bytes
The money and smallmoney data types are accurate to a ten-thousandth of the monetary units that they represent.
Compare to decimal:
When maximum precision is used, valid values are from -10^38 + 1 through 10^38 - 1.
Precision Storage
1 - 9 5 bytes
10 - 19 9 bytes
20 - 28 13 bytes
29 - 38 17 bytes
So they're not exactly equivalent, just similar. A DECIMAL(19,4) has a slightly greater range than MONEY (it can store from -10^15 + 0.0001 to 10^15 - 0.0001), but also needs one more byte of storage.
In other words, this works:
CREATE TABLE Table1 (test DECIMAL(19,4) NOT NULL);
INSERT INTO Table1 (test) VALUES
(999999999999999.9999);
SELECT * FROM Table1
999999999999999.9999
But this doesn't:
CREATE TABLE Table1 (test MONEY NOT NULL);
INSERT INTO Table1 (test) VALUES
(999999999999999.9999);
SELECT * FROM Table1
Arithmetic overflow error converting numeric to data type money.
There's also a semantic difference. If you want to store monetary values, it makes sense to use the type money.
I think the primary difference will be the storage space required.
DECIMAL(19,4) will require 9 storage bytes
MONEY will require 8 storage bytes

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