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MariaDB: Literals

This MariaDB tutorial explains how to use literals (string, number, date, time, and boolean literals) in MariaDB with examples.

Description

In MariaDB, a literal is the same as a constant. We'll cover several types of literals - string literals, number literals, date and time literals and boolean literals.

String Literals

String literals are always surrounded by either single quotes (') or double quotes ("). For example:

Example Explanation
'TechOnTheNet.com' String literal with single quotes
"TechOnTheNet.com" String literal with double quotes
'Tech on the Net' String literal with single quotes
"Tech on the Net" String literal with double quotes

Number Literals

Number literals can be either positive or negative numbers that are exact or floating point values. If you do not specify a sign, then a positive number is assumed. Here are some examples of valid number literals:

Example Explanation
43 Integer literal with no sign (positive sign is assumed)
+43 Integer literal with positive sign
-43 Integer literal with negative sign
43e-03 Floating point literal
43.786 Decimal literal

Date and Time Literals

Date and time literals can be expressed as either strings or numbers. Here are some examples of valid date and time literals:

Example Explanation
'2014-06-27' Date literal formatted as 'YYYY-MM-DD'
'20140627' Date literal formatted as 'YYYYMMDD'
20140627 Date literal formatted as YYYYMMDD
'14-06-27' Date literal formatted as 'YY-MM-DD'
'140627' Date literal formatted as 'YYMMDD'
140627 Date literal formatted as YYMMDD
'2014-06-27 14:52:34' Datetime literal formatted as 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS'
'20140627145234' Datetime literal formatted as 'YYYYMMDDHHMMSS'
20140627145234 Datetime literal formatted as YYYYMMDDHHMMSS
'14-06-27 14:52:34' Datetime literal formatted as 'YY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS'
'140627145234' Datetime literal formatted as 'YYMMDDHHMMSS'
140627145234 Datetime literal formatted as YYMMDDHHMMSS
'0 14:52:34' Time literal formatted as 'D HH:MM:SS' where D can be a day value between 0 and 34
'14:52:34' Time literal formatted as 'HH:MM:SS'
'14:52' Time literal formatted as 'HH:MM'
'0 14:52' Time literal formatted as 'D HH:MM' where D can be a day value between 0 and 34
'0 14' Time literal formatted as 'D HH' where D can be a day value between 0 and 34
'34' Time literal formatted as 'SS'
145234 Time literal formatted as HHMMSS
5234 Time literal formatted as MMSS
34 Time literal formatted as SS

Boolean Literals

Boolean literals are values that evaluate to either 1 or 0. Here are some examples of valid boolean literals:

Example Explanation
1 Evaluates to 1
TRUE Evaluates to 1
true Evaluates to 1
0 Evaluates to 0
FALSE Evaluates to 0
false Evaluates to 0