PLSQL | ABS Function
Last Updated :
06 Oct, 2019
The PLSQL ABS function is used for returning the absolute value of a number. Absolute value is used for depicting the distance of a number on the number line from 0. The direction of the number from zero is not considered since the absolute value of a number is never negative.
The ABS in PLSQL function takes as an argument any numeric data type or any non-numeric data type that can be implicitly converted to a numeric data type. The value returned by the PLSQL ABS function is of the same data type as the numeric data type of the argument.
Syntax:
ABS( number )
Parameters Used:
number – It is used to specify the number whose absolute value you want to know.
Return Value:
The ABS function in PLSQL returns a numeric value.
Supported Versions of Oracle/PLSQL:
- Oracle 12c
- Oracle 11g
- Oracle 10g
- Oracle 9i
- Oracle 8i
Example-1: Using a positive numeric value as an argument in the ABS function.
DECLARE
Test_Number int := 20;
BEGIN
dbms_output.put_line(ABS(Test_Number));
END;
Output:
20
Example-2: Using a negative numeric value as an argument in the ABS function.
DECLARE
Test_Number int := -12;
BEGIN
dbms_output.put_line(ABS(Test_Number));
END;
Output:
12
Example-3: Using a negative numeric value with decimal as an argument in the ABS function.
DECLARE
Test_Number decimal(7, 2) := -12.23;
BEGIN
dbms_output.put_line(ABS(Test_Number));
END;
Output:
12.23
Example-4: Using an expression as an argument in the ABS function.
DECLARE
Test_Number decimal(11, 2) := (-20.45 * 2);
BEGIN
dbms_output.put_line(ABS(Test_Number));
END;
Output:
40.9
Example-5: Using ABS function with select query.
SELECT ABS(-20.45 * 1) FROM dual;
Output:
20.45
Advantages:
The ABS function accepts any numeric datatype as well as any non-numeric datatype as an argument that can be implicitly converted to a numeric datatype.
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