This section provides some examples that show precision math query results in MySQL 5.1.

Example 1. Numbers are used with their exact value as given when possible:

mysql> SELECT .1 + .2 = .3;
+--------------+
| .1 + .2 = .3 |
+--------------+
|            1 |
+--------------+

For floating-point values, results are inexact:

mysql> SELECT .1E0 + .2E0 = .3E0;
+--------------------+
| .1E0 + .2E0 = .3E0 |
+--------------------+
|                  0 |
+--------------------+

Another way to see the difference in exact and approximate value handling is to add a small number to a sum many times. Consider the following stored procedure, which adds .0001 to a variable 1,000 times.

CREATE PROCEDURE p ()
BEGIN
  DECLARE i INT DEFAULT 0;
  DECLARE d DECIMAL(10,4) DEFAULT 0;
  DECLARE f FLOAT DEFAULT 0;
  WHILE i < 10000 DO
    SET d = d + .0001;
    SET f = f + .0001E0;
    SET i = i + 1;
  END WHILE;
  SELECT d, f;
END;

The sum for both d and f logically should be 1, but that is true only for the decimal calculation. The floating-point calculation introduces small errors:

+--------+------------------+
| d      | f                |
+--------+------------------+
| 1.0000 | 0.99999999999991 |
+--------+------------------+

Example 2. Multiplication is performed with the scale required by standard SQL. That is, for two numbers X1 and X2 that have scale S1 and S2, the scale of the result is S1 + S2:

mysql> SELECT .01 * .01;
+-----------+
| .01 * .01 |
+-----------+
| 0.0001    |
+-----------+

Example 3. Rounding behavior is well-defined:

Rounding behavior (for example, with the ROUND() function) is independent of the implementation of the underlying C library, which means that results are consistent from platform to platform.

Rounding for DECIMAL columns and exact-valued numbers uses the “round half up” rule. Values with a fractional part of .5 or greater are rounded away from zero to the nearest integer, as shown here:

mysql> SELECT ROUND(2.5), ROUND(-2.5);
+------------+-------------+
| ROUND(2.5) | ROUND(-2.5) |
+------------+-------------+
| 3          | -3          |
+------------+-------------+

However, rounding for floating-point values uses the C library, which on many systems uses the “round to nearest even” rule. Values with any fractional part on such systems are rounded to the nearest even integer:

mysql> SELECT ROUND(2.5E0), ROUND(-2.5E0);
+--------------+---------------+
| ROUND(2.5E0) | ROUND(-2.5E0) |
+--------------+---------------+
|            2 |            -2 |
+--------------+---------------+

Example 4. In strict mode, inserting a value that is too large results in overflow and causes an error, rather than truncation to a legal value.

When MySQL is not running in strict mode, truncation to a legal value occurs:

mysql> SET sql_mode='';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> CREATE TABLE t (i TINYINT);
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.01 sec)

mysql> INSERT INTO t SET i = 128;
Query OK, 1 row affected, 1 warning (0.00 sec)

mysql> SELECT i FROM t;
+------+
| i    |
+------+
|  127 |
+------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

Howver, an overflow condition occurs if strict mode is in effect:

mysql> SET sql_mode='STRICT_ALL_TABLES';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> CREATE TABLE t (i TINYINT);
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> INSERT INTO t SET i = 128;
ERROR 1264 (22003): Out of range value adjusted for column 'i' at row 1

mysql> SELECT i FROM t;
Empty set (0.00 sec)

Example 5: In strict mode and with ERROR_FOR_DIVISION_BY_ZERO set, division by zero causes an error, and not a result of NULL.

In non-strict mode, division by zero has a result of NULL:

mysql> SET sql_mode='';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.01 sec)

mysql> CREATE TABLE t (i TINYINT);
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> INSERT INTO t SET i = 1 / 0;
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> SELECT i FROM t;
+------+
| i    |
+------+
| NULL |
+------+
1 row in set (0.03 sec)

However, division by zero is an error if the proper SQL modes are in effect:

mysql> SET sql_mode='STRICT_ALL_TABLES,ERROR_FOR_DIVISION_BY_ZERO';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> CREATE TABLE t (i TINYINT);
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> INSERT INTO t SET i = 1 / 0;
ERROR 1365 (22012): Division by 0

mysql> SELECT i FROM t;
Empty set (0.01 sec)

Example 6. Prior to MySQL 5.0.3 (before precision math was introduced), both exact-value and approximate-value literals were converted to double-precision floating-point values:

mysql> SELECT VERSION();
+------------+
| VERSION()  |
+------------+
| 4.1.18-log |
+------------+
1 row in set (0.01 sec)

mysql> CREATE TABLE t SELECT 2.5 AS a, 25E-1 AS b;
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.07 sec)
Records: 1  Duplicates: 0  Warnings: 0

mysql> DESCRIBE t;
+-------+-------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Field | Type        | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
+-------+-------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| a     | double(3,1) |      |     | 0.0     |       |
| b     | double      |      |     | 0       |       |
+-------+-------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
2 rows in set (0.04 sec)

As of MySQL 5.0.3, the approximate-value literal still is converted to floating-point, but the exact-value literal is handled as DECIMAL:

mysql> SELECT VERSION();
+-----------------+
| VERSION()       |
+-----------------+
| 5.1.6-alpha-log |
+-----------------+
1 row in set (0.11 sec)

mysql> CREATE TABLE t SELECT 2.5 AS a, 25E-1 AS b;
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.01 sec)
Records: 1  Duplicates: 0  Warnings: 0

mysql> DESCRIBE t;
+-------+-----------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Field | Type                  | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
+-------+-----------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| a     | decimal(2,1) unsigned | NO   |     | 0.0     |       |
| b     | double                | NO   |     | 0       |       |
+-------+-----------------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
2 rows in set (0.01 sec)

Example 7. If the argument to an aggregate function is an exact numeric type, the result is also an exact numeric type, with a scale at least that of the argument.

Consider these statements:

mysql> CREATE TABLE t (i INT, d DECIMAL, f FLOAT);
mysql> INSERT INTO t VALUES(1,1,1);
mysql> CREATE TABLE y SELECT AVG(i), AVG(d), AVG(f) FROM t;

Result before MySQL 5.0.3 (prior to the introduction of precision math in MySQL):

mysql> DESCRIBE y;
+--------+--------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Field  | Type         | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
+--------+--------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| AVG(i) | double(17,4) | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
| AVG(d) | double(17,4) | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
| AVG(f) | double       | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
+--------+--------------+------+-----+---------+-------+

The result is a double no matter the argument type.

Result as of MySQL 5.0.3:

mysql> DESCRIBE y;
+--------+---------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Field  | Type          | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
+--------+---------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| AVG(i) | decimal(14,4) | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
| AVG(d) | decimal(14,4) | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
| AVG(f) | double        | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
+--------+---------------+------+-----+---------+-------+

The result is a double only for the floating-point argument. For exact type arguments, the result is also an exact type.