Analyzing ½ in SQL Server Mathematically

Hello everyone. In this article, we will analyze ½, that is, a part 2, expression in SQL Server mathematically.

In SQL Server, you may come across such questions in interviews or while writing a query. This is a small question. However, it’s also an interesting question. Many people immediately answer “0.5”. It’s mathematically correct, but it’s hard to say for SQL Server that this is so. Because if you do this in SQL Server, you will see the result of “0”.

Try the following query on SQL Server Management Studio.

SELECT 1/2 AS Sonuc

If you saw the zero result, read on.

The reason ½ is “0” in SQL Server is because SQL Server treats 1 and 2 as integers.

If we change our queries as below, we will catch the expression “0.5” according to the data types.

SELECT
	1 / 2 AS Sonuc1
SELECT
	1.0 / 2.0 AS Sonuc2
SELECT
	CONVERT(FLOAT, 1) / 2 AS Sonuc3
SELECT
	1 / CONVERT(FLOAT, 2) AS Sonuc4
SELECT
	CONVERT(FLOAT, 1) / CONVERT(FLOAT, 2) AS Sonuc5
SELECT
	CAST(1 AS FLOAT) / 2 AS Sonuc6
SELECT
	1 / CAST(2 AS FLOAT) AS Sonuc7
SELECT
	CAST(1 AS FLOAT) / CAST(2 AS FLOAT) AS Sonuc8
SELECT
	CONVERT(NUMERIC(5, 2), 1.0 / 2.0) AS Sonuc9

When you run the above query, you will see a result similar to the one below.

As can be seen, we have obtained the result “0.5”.

Good luck to everyone in business and life.