SQL Data Types

Overview

This page provides a comprehensive overview of the data types available in SQL Server. Data types define the kind of values that a column in a table can hold. Choosing the appropriate data type is crucial for efficient data storage and accurate results.

Data Type Categories

SQL data types can be broadly categorized into the following:

• Numeric Types: These types store numerical values.
• String Types: These types store textual data.
• Date and Time Types: These types store date and time values.
• Boolean Type: This type represents truth values (TRUE or FALSE).

Numeric Data Types

Some of the common numeric data types include:

• INT
• BIGINT
• SMALLINT
• TINYINT
• DECIMAL
• FLOAT
• REAL

String Data Types

Common string data types:

• VARCHAR(n)
• NVARCHAR(n)
• CHAR(n)
• NCHAR(n)

Date and Time Data Types

Date and time data types:

• DATETIME2
• DATETIME
• DATE
• TIME
• DATETIMEOFFSET

Boolean Data Type

The BOOLEAN data type represents a truth value, which can be either TRUE or FALSE.