Transact-SQL Reference
ABS
Returns the absolute, positive value of the given numeric expression.
Syntax
ABS ( numeric_expression )
Arguments
numeric_expression
Is an expression of the exact numeric or approximate numeric data type category, except for the bit data type.
Return Types
Returns the same type as numeric_expression.
Examples
This example shows the effect of the ABS function on three different numbers.
SELECT ABS(-1.0), ABS(0.0), ABS(1.0)
Here is the result set:
---- ---- ----
1.0 .0 1.0
The ABS function can produce an overflow error, for example:
SELECT ABS(convert(int, -2147483648))
Here is the error message:
Server: Msg 8115, Level 16, State 2
Arithmetic overflow error converting expression to type int.