How Can I Remove Trailing Zeros from Decimal Values in SQL Server?

How to remove trailing zeros from decimal values ​​in SQL Server

Many SQL Server users encounter a common problem: trailing zeros in decimal values. For example, a DECIMAL(9,6) column designed to hold a value like 999,123456 might store 123,4567 as 123,456700.

Understanding decimal precision

The DECIMAL data type in SQL Server stores a specific number of digits after the decimal point, as shown in (9,6) notation. This means that the column can hold six digits to the right of the decimal point.

Explanation of trailing zeros

To maintain the defined precision, trailing zeros are added to decimal values. In the example above, the value 123,4567 only has four digits after the decimal point, but six is ​​required. Therefore, two trailing zeros are added at the end.

Remove trailing zeros

To remove trailing zeros from decimal values, you can use the solution for converting decimal to float:

<code class="language-sql">select 
    cast(123.4567 as DECIMAL(9,6))
,   cast(cast(123.4567 as float) as DECIMAL(9,4))</code>

This method takes advantage of the fact that floating point numbers do not display trailing zeros by default. Trailing zeros are effectively removed by converting decimal to floating point and then back to decimal. Please note that the final result is converted to DECIMAL(9,4), retaining the number of valid decimal places.

Example output

The above query produces the following output:

<code>123.456700  123.4567</code>

In this example, the period (.) acts as the decimal separator. Note that decimal values ​​retain their original precision, but trailing zeros have been eliminated. Choosing an appropriate precision (e.g. DECIMAL(9,4)) is critical to the final result to avoid loss of precision or unnecessary rounding.

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