float and real (T-SQL)

Approximate number data types for use with floating point numeric data. Floating point data is approximate; not all values in the data type range can be precisely represented.

Syntax

float[(n)]

Is a floating point number data from - 1.79E + 308 through 1.79E + 308. n is the number of bits used to store the mantissa of the float number in scientific notation and thus dictates the precision and storage size. n must be a value from 1 through 53.

 

n is	Precision	Storage size
1-24	7 digits	4 bytes
25-53	15 digits	8 bytes

The Microsoft® SQL Server™ float[(n)] data type conforms to the SQL-92 standard for all values of n from 1 to 53. The synonym for double precision is float(53).

real

Floating point number data from –3.40E + 38 through 3.40E + 38. Storage size is 4 bytes. In SQL Server, the synonym for real is float(24).

See Also