CASTing data
It happens often to need data in a certain type or format and to find that it's stored differently. For example:
- Integrating data from multiple sources, having different data types, into a single one
- Abstract data should be more readable (i.e. True/False instead of 1/0)
Luckily, you don't need to make any changes in the data itself. You can use functions for explicitly converting to the data type you need (using
CAST()
andCONVERT()
).
You are now going to explicitly convert data using the CAST()
function.
Remember the syntax:
sql
CAST(expression AS data_type [(length)])
This exercise is part of the course
Functions for Manipulating Data in SQL Server
Hands-on interactive exercise
Have a go at this exercise by completing this sample code.
SELECT
-- Transform the year part from the birthdate to a string
first_name + ' ' + last_name + ' was born in ' + ___(YEAR(___) AS nvarchar) + '.'
FROM voters;