Overview of Scalar Functions

ODBC specifies five types of scalar functions:

• String functions
  
  
• Numeric functions
  
  
• Time and date functions
  
  
• System functions
  
  
• Data type conversion functions

The following sections list functions by function type. Descriptions include associated syntax.

ODBC does not mandate a data type for return values from scalar functions because the functions are often data source–specific. Applications should use the CONVERT scalar function whenever possible to force data type conversion.