ABS function

ABS calculates the absolute value of a number, where that number can be a literal or an expression that evaluates to a number.

Syntax

ABS (number)

Arguments

number

Number or expression that evaluates to a number. It can be the SMALLINT, INTEGER, BIGINT, DECIMAL, FLOAT4, or FLOAT8 type.

Return type

ABS returns the same data type as its argument.

Examples

Calculate the absolute value of -38:

select abs (-38);
abs
-------
38
(1 row)

Calculate the absolute value of (14-76):

select abs (14-76);
abs
-------
62
(1 row)