CAST vs CONVERT
The availability of various software intended for a database and storage of other mathematical data has greatly innovated the activities and standard operating procedures of many industrial businesses. Of all these computer programs, the SQL server proves to be the easiest and most practical to be used.
The SQL server produced by Microsoft serves as a relational database management system which has been proven useful in the market of various businesses. The server runs on Transact-SQL which is defined as a group of programming extensions originally developed by Sybase along with Microsoft adding more features to the regular SQL.
This information may be too much for someone who is never really well-rounded when it comes to computer programming and management of databases, but the SQL server can be simply seen as a tool for transaction control, exception, and/or error handling, row processing, and managing declared variables – all of which are helpful in monitoring, say, the sales of a certain business or storing data needed by engineers.
The SQL server was first developed by Sybase. In the late 1980s, nonetheless, Microsoft in collaboration with Sybase and Ashton-Tate produced the first version of the product for OS/2. It was in 2005 when the SQL Server 2005, which instantly became popular among computer users, was produced in the market. The product was known to be more flexible than the original version while providing precise scalability, enhanced reliability, and heightened security for database utilizations. It is also found to be effective in the reduction of complexity and the tedium involved in database management.
Presently, users are given the option to choose between two functions from the SQL server for the quest to convert expressions from one type to another as they encounter the need to convert data from a stored procedure or routine under a specific industrial business setting. For example, users needing to convert data from a datetime to a varchar type may use the functions Convert and Cast.
While both functions prove to be effective in the conversion needs of the users, there is a need for the users to know which functions perform best in specific settings. Remember that Convert is specific to the SQL server and can be more amiable when it comes to the conversion of date and time values, fractional numbers, and monetary signifiers.
Cast, on the other hand, is more of an ANSI standard and can be more portable than Convert. This type of function can be utilized for other database applications more or less as-is. Thus, Cast can be considered as inferior to Convert when it comes to flexibility and power. Then again, Cast can be more helpful than Convert when it comes to the conversion of decimal and numeric values as the function has the ability to preserve the number of decimal places from the original expressions.
It is for these reasons that experts suggest to use Cast first for conversion before utilizing Convert for specific tasks that the Cast cannot be efficient in. Simply put, Cast can be more effective when the users aim to have the Transact-SQL program code to comply with the SQL-92. Then again, Convert should be used for the purpose of taking advantage of the style functionality of Convert.
Nonetheless, there is not much difference between Cast and Convert, datetime formatting capabilities aside.
Most users just prefer to use Cast in every conversion task and back-up the procedure with the utilization of Convert which can be efficient with a datetime-specific routine.
Summary:
1.Both CAST and CONVERT are features of the SQL server necessary for the conversion of expressions from one type to another.
2.CAST is more user-friendly than CONVERT as it is easier to use for conversion.
3.CONVERT, nonetheless, proves to be more powerful and flexible than CAST.
4.CAST is advisable for basic conversion. CONVERT is suggested for a datetime-specific routine.