Numbers
In SurrealDB, numbers can be one of three types: 64-bit integers, 64-bit floating point numbers, or 128-bit decimal numbers.
Integer numbers
If a numeric value is specified without a decimal point and is within the range -9223372036854775808 to 9223372036854775807 then the value will be parsed, stored, and treated as a 64-bit integer.
CREATE event SET year = 2022;
Floating point numbers
If a number value is specified with a decimal point, or is outside of the maximum range specified above, then the number will automatically be parsed, stored, and treated as a 64-bit floating point value. This ensures efficiency when performing mathematical calculations within SurrealDB.
CREATE event SET temperature = 41.5;
Decimal numbers
To opt into 128-bit decimal numbers when specifying numeric values, you can use the dec suffix.
CREATE product SET price = 99.99dec;
The dec suffix is an instruction to the parser and not a cast, and is thus preferred when making a decimal.
-- Creates the imprecise float 3.888888888888889 and casts it into a decimal as 3.888888888888889dec
RETURN <decimal>3.8888888888888888;
-- Uses the input 3.8888888888888888 to directly create a decimal
RETURN 3.8888888888888888dec;
Using a specific numeric type
To use a specific type when specifying numeric values, you can cast the value to a specific numeric type or use the appropriate suffix.
CREATE event SET
year = <int> 2022,
temperature = <float> 41.5 + 5f,
horizon = <decimal> 31 + 3dec
;
Numeric precision
Different numeric types can be compared and used together in calculations.
The benefits of floating point numeric values are speed and storage size, but there is a limit to the numeric precision.
RETURN 13.5719384719384719385639856394139476937756394756;
13.571938471938473
In addition, when using floating point numbers specifically, mathematical operations can result in a loss of precision (as is normal with other databases).
RETURN 0.3 + 0.3 + 0.3 + 0.1;
1.0000000000000002
Common rounding errors can be avoided by performing calculations using decimals.
RETURN 0.3dec + 0.3dec + 0.3dec + 0.1dec;
1.0
Mathematical constants
A set of floating point numeric constants are available in SurrealDB. Constant names are case insensitive, and can be specified with either lowercase or capital letters, or a mixture of both.
CREATE circle SET radius = circumference / ( 2 * MATH::PI );
| Constant | Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|
MATH::E | 2.718281828459045 | ||
MATH::FRAC_1_PI | 0.3183098861837907 | ||
MATH::FRAC_1_SQRT_2 | 0.7071067811865476 | ||
MATH::FRAC_2_PI | 0.6366197723675814 | ||
MATH::FRAC_2_SQRT_PI | 1.1283791670955126 | ||
MATH::FRAC_PI_2 | 1.5707963267948966 | ||
MATH::FRAC_PI_3 | 1.0471975511965979 | ||
MATH::FRAC_PI_4 | 0.7853981633974483 | ||
MATH::FRAC_PI_6 | 0.5235987755982989 | ||
MATH::FRAC_PI_8 | 0.39269908169872414 | ||
MATH::LN_10 | 2.302585092994046 | ||
MATH::LN_2 | 0.6931471805599453 | ||
MATH::LOG10_2 | 0.3010299956639812 | ||
MATH::LOG10_E | 0.4342944819032518 | ||
MATH::LOG2_10 | 3.321928094887362 | ||
MATH::LOG2_E | 1.4426950408889634 | ||
MATH::PI | 3.141592653589793 | ||
MATH::SQRT_2 | 1.4142135623730951 | ||
MATH::TAU | 6.283185307179586 |
Next steps
You've now seen how to use numeric values in SurrealDB. For more advanced functionality, take a look at the operators and math functions, which enable advanced calculations on numeric values and sets of numeric values.