float and real
Approximate number data types for use with floating point numeric data. Floating point data is approximate; not all values in the data type range can be precisely represented.
Syntax
float [ ( n ) ]
Is a floating point number data from - 1.79E + 308 through 1.79E + 308. n is the number of bits used to store the mantissa of the float number in scientific notation and thus dictates the precision and storage size. n must be a value from 1 through 53.
n is | Precision | Storage size |
---|---|---|
1-24 | 7 digits | 4 bytes |
25-53 | 15 digits | 8 bytes |
The Microsoft® SQL Server™ float[(n)] data type conforms to the SQL-92 standard for all values of n from 1 to 53. The synonym for double precision is float(53).
real
Floating point number data from –3.40E + 38 through 3.40E + 38. Storage size is 4 bytes. In SQL Server, the synonym for real is float(24).