SQL operators express logical and arithmetic operations. Operators of the same precedence are evaluated from left to right.
Parentheses can be used to control the order of precedence. When parentheses are present, operations are performed from the innermost set of parentheses outward.
The following definitions apply to SQL operators.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| numeric | Any literal, data reference, or expression having a numeric value. |
| string | Any character string or string expression. |
| logical | A Boolean expression (resolves to TRUE, FALSE, or unknown). |
| value | Any numeric, character, or byte data item. |
| set | A collection of values returned by a subquery, or a list of values separated by commas and enclosed by parentheses. |
SQL Operations and Precedence
SQL operations, and the order in which they are performed when no parentheses are present, appear in the following table. Operators of the same precedence are evaluated from left to right.
| Precedence | Result Type | Operation |
|---|---|---|
| highest | numeric | + numeric (unary plus) - numeric (unary minus) |
| intermediate | numeric | numeric ** numeric (exponentiation) |
| numeric | numeric * numeric (multiplication) numeric / numeric (division) numeric MOD numeric (modulo operator) |
|
| numeric | numeric + numeric (addition) numeric - numeric (subtraction) |
|
| string | concatenation operator | |
| logical |
|
|
| logical | NOT logical | |
| logical | logical AND logical | |
| lowest | logical | logical OR logical |