SQL in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

Oracle-Supported Functions

This section provides an alphabetical listing of the SQL functions specific to Oracle, with examples and corresponding results.

ACOS( number )

Returns the arc cosine of number ranging from -1 to 1. The result ranges from 0 to 1 and is expressed in radians. For example:

SELECT ACOS( 0 ) FROM DUAL -> 1.570796

ADD_MONTHS( date, int )

Returns the date plus int months. For example:

SELECT ADD_MONTHS('15-APR-1999', 3) FROM DUAL -> 15-JUL-99

ASCII( text )

Returns the ASCII code of the first character of text. For example:

SELECT ASCII('x') FROM DUAL -> 120

ASCIISTR( text )

Converts text from any character set into an ASCII equivalent. Characters in text that have no equivalent in ASCII will be replaced with the string \XXXX, where XXXX represents the UTF-16 code unit. For example:

SELECT ASCIISTR('ÄBC') FROM DUAL -> '\00C4BC'

ASIN( number )

Returns the arc sine of number ranging from -1 to 1. The resulting value ranges from -/2 to /2 and is expressed in radians. For example:

SELECT ASIN( 0 ) FROM DUAL -> 0.000000

ATAN( number )

Returns the arctangent of number. The resulting value ranges from -/2 to /2 and is expressed in radians. For example:

SELECT ATAN( 3.1415 ) FROM DUAL -> 1.262619

ATAN2( number,nbr )

Returns the arctangent of number and nbr. The values for number and nbr are not restricted, but the results range from - to and are expressed in radians. ATAN2( x,y ) is similar to ATAN( y/x ), with the exception that the signs of x and y are used to determine ...