SIGN (Transact-SQL)

Applies to: SQL Server Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance Azure Synapse Analytics Analytics Platform System (PDW) SQL analytics endpoint in Microsoft Fabric Warehouse in Microsoft Fabric

Returns the positive (+1), zero (0), or negative (-1) sign of the specified expression.

Transact-SQL syntax conventions

Syntax

SIGN ( numeric_expression )  

Arguments

numeric_expression
Is an expression of the exact numeric or approximate numeric data type category, except for the bit data type.

Return Types

Specified expression	Return type
bigint	bigint
int/smallint/tinyint	int
money/smallmoney	money
numeric/decimal	numeric/decimal
Other types	float

Examples

The following example returns the SIGN values of numbers from -1 to 1.

DECLARE @value REAL  
SET @value = -1  
WHILE @value < 2  
   BEGIN  
      SELECT SIGN(@value)  
      SET NOCOUNT ON  
      SELECT @value = @value + 1  
      SET NOCOUNT OFF  
   END  
SET NOCOUNT OFF  
GO  

Here's the result set.

(1 row(s) affected)  
  
------------------------   
-1.0                       
  
(1 row(s) affected)  
  
------------------------   
0.0                        
  
(1 row(s) affected)  
  
------------------------   
1.0                        
  
(1 row(s) affected)  

Examples: Azure Synapse Analytics and Analytics Platform System (PDW)

The following example returns the SIGN values of three numbers.

SELECT SIGN(-125), SIGN(0), SIGN(564);  

Here's the result set.

-----  -----  -----  
-1     0      1

See Also

Mathematical Functions (Transact-SQL)