7.5. Conversion Functions

Presto will implicitly convert numeric and character values to the correct type if such a conversion is possible. Presto will not convert between character and numeric types. For example, a query that expects a varchar will not automatically convert a bigint value to an equivalent varchar.

When necessary, values can be explicitly cast to a particular type.

Conversion Functions

cast(value AS type) → type: Explicitly cast a value as a type. This can be used to cast a varchar to a numeric value type and vice versa.

try_cast(value AS type) → type: Like cast(), but returns null if the cast fails.

Formatting

format(format, args...) → varchar

Returns a formatted string using the specified format string and arguments:

SELECT format('%s%%', 123); -- '123%'
SELECT format('%.5f', pi()); -- '3.14159'
SELECT format('%03d', 8); -- '008'
SELECT format('%,.2f', 1234567.89); -- '1,234,567.89'
SELECT format('%-7s,%7s', 'hello', 'world'); --  'hello  ,  world'
SELECT format('%2$s %3$s %1$s', 'a', 'b', 'c'); -- 'b c a'
SELECT format('%1$tA, %1$tB %1$te, %1$tY', date '2006-07-04'); -- 'Tuesday, July 4, 2006'

Data Size

The parse_presto_data_size function supports the following units:

Unit	Description	Value
`B`	Bytes	1
`kB`	Kilobytes	1024
`MB`	Megabytes	1024²
`GB`	Gigabytes	1024³
`TB`	Terabytes	1024⁴
`PB`	Petabytes	1024⁵
`EB`	Exabytes	1024⁶
`ZB`	Zettabytes	1024⁷
`YB`	Yottabytes	1024⁸

parse_presto_data_size(string) -> decimal(38)

Parses string of format value unit into a number, where value is the fractional number of unit values:

SELECT parse_presto_data_size('1B'); -- 1
SELECT parse_presto_data_size('1kB'); -- 1024
SELECT parse_presto_data_size('1MB'); -- 1048576
SELECT parse_presto_data_size('2.3MB'); -- 2411724

Miscellaneous

typeof(expr) → varchar

Returns the name of the type of the provided expression:

SELECT typeof(123); -- integer
SELECT typeof('cat'); -- varchar(3)
SELECT typeof(cos(2) + 1.5); -- double

Presto 329 Documentation