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ROUND

The ROUND function in SQL is used to round a numeric field to the nearest specified decimal or integer.

Most usually, ROUND accepts two arguments. The first one is the value that needs to be rounded, and the second is the number of decimal places to which the first argument will be rounded off. When dealing with decimals, SQL will round up when the number after the decimal point is 5 or higher, whereas it will round down if it's less than 5.

Syntax​

The basic syntax for ROUND can be described as follows:

ROUND ( numeric_expression, length [ , function ] )
  • numeric_expression: A floating point number to round.
  • length: The precision to which numeric_expression is to be rounded. When length is a positive number, rounding affects the right side of the decimal point. If length is negative, rounding affects the left side of the decimal point.
  • function: Optional parameter to determine the operation to perform. If this is omitted or 0, the numeric_expression is rounded. If this is 1, the numeric_expression is truncated.

Example 1:​

Round off a decimal to the nearest whole number.

SELECT ROUND(125.215);

This will result in 125.

Example 2:​

Round off a number to a specified decimal place.

SELECT ROUND(125.215, 1);

This will result in 125.2 as the second decimal place (5) is less than 5.

Example 3:​

Round off the left side of the decimal.

SELECT ROUND(125.215, -2);

This will result in 100 as rounding now affects digits before the decimal point.

Whenever you need to round off numeric data in SQL, the ROUND function is a valuable tool to have in your kit. It proficiently handles both positive and negative rounding, and its simple syntax makes it extremely user-friendly.