Convert Values With CAST

Change a value from one SQL type to another using an explicit cast.

5/5 supported engines validation-green 1 example 2 scenarios

Docker-validated Not currently validation-green

Example 1

Cast text digits to an integer

Casting avoids leaving the value as plain text when you need numeric behavior later in the query.

MySQL MariaDB

Engine-specific syntax

Source table data

Setup

CREATE TABLE raw_scores (score_text VARCHAR(10));

INSERT INTO
  raw_scores (score_text)
VALUES
  ('42');

Validated query

SQL

SELECT
  CAST(score_text AS SIGNED) AS score_number
FROM
  raw_scores;

Expected result

score_number
42

SQL Server PostgreSQL

Engine-specific syntax

Source table data

Setup

CREATE TABLE raw_scores (score_text VARCHAR(10));

INSERT INTO
  raw_scores (score_text)
VALUES
  ('42');

Validated query

SQL

SELECT
  CAST(score_text AS INT) AS score_number
FROM
  raw_scores;

Expected result

score_number
42

SQLite

Engine-specific syntax

Source table data

Setup

CREATE TABLE raw_scores (score_text VARCHAR(10));

INSERT INTO
  raw_scores (score_text)
VALUES
  ('42');

Validated query

SQL

SELECT
  CAST(score_text AS INTEGER) AS score_number
FROM
  raw_scores;

Expected result

score_number
42

The cast target syntax differs slightly, but the converted numeric result is the same.

Useful when

Where this command helps.

turning text input into a numeric type before calculation
making the output type explicit in reports or API-facing queries

Explanation

What the command is doing.

CAST(expression AS type) converts a value into a target SQL type so it can be compared, formatted, or returned in the shape you need. Explicit casts are especially useful when imported data arrives as text but must behave like numbers, dates, or booleans.

Convert Values With CAST

Cast text digits to an integer

Where this command helps.

What the command is doing.

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