CODEWITHSUNDEEP
sqlsql-server
orim
orim

Reputation: 143

LEFT returns different results for the same values

Can some one explain me why the results of LEFT are different? For:

Declare @f as float
set @f = 40456510.

select LEFT(cast(@f as float), LEN(4045.)), LEFT(404565., LEN(4045.))

I got:

     |
------------ 
4.04 | 4045

Is there a default cast which causes this? Fiddle SQL

Upvotes: 2

Views: 71

Answers (2)

Tanner
Tanner

Reputation: 22733

When you call LEFT(...) on the FLOAT value you are converting it to a string representation of the number as it's a string function. If you convert the value to a varchar for example, you'll see what the output is:

SELECT CAST(CAST(@f as float) AS VARCHAR(100))

You get: '4.04565e+007'

So the first 4 characters of that are: '4.04'

Upvotes: 3

Charles Bretana
Charles Bretana

Reputation: 146499

The first one is taking the left 4 characters of the exponential representation. Why I don't know.

You are applying a string function [Left()] to a float variable.

Upvotes: 0

Related Questions