SQL: Data Types

he following is a list of general SQL datatypes that may not be supported by all relational databases.

Data Type Syntax Explanation (if applicable)
integer integer
smallint smallint
numeric numeric(p,s) Where p is a precision value; s is a scale value. For example, numeric(6,2) is a number that has 4 digits before the decimal and 2 digits after the decimal.
decimal decimal(p,s) Where p is a precision value; s is a scale value.
real real Single-precision floating point number
double precision double precision Double-precision floating point number
float float(p) Where p is a precision value.
character char(x) Where x is the number of characters to store. This data type is space padded to fill the number of characters specified.
character varying varchar2(x) Where x is the number of characters to store. This data type does NOT space pad.
bit bit(x) Where x is the number of bits to store.
bit varying bit varying(x) Where x is the number of bits to store. The length can vary up to x.
date date Stores year, month, and day values.
time time Stores the hour, minute, and second values.
timestamp timestamp Stores year, month, day, hour, minute, and second values.
time with time zone time with time zone Exactly the same as time, but also stores an offset from UTC of the time specified.
timestamp with time zone timestamp with time zone Exactly the same as timestamp, but also stores an offset from UTC of the time specified.
year-month interval
Contains a year value, a month value, or both.
day-time interval
Contains a day value, an hour value, a minute value, and/or a second value.

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