In MariaDB, ABS() is a built-in numeric function that returns the absolute (non-negative) value of its argument.

Syntax

The syntax goes like this:

ABS(X)

Where X is the number in question. If X is not a number, it is converted to a numeric type.

Example

Here’s an example:

SELECT ABS(300);

Result:

+----------+
| ABS(300) |
+----------+
|      300 |
+----------+

We get the same result if the number is negative:

SELECT ABS(-300);

Result:

+-----------+
| ABS(-300) |
+-----------+
|       300 |
+-----------+

Non-Numeric Argument

If the argument is not a number, it is converted to a numeric type.

Example:

SELECT ABS(DATE '2020-12-10');

Result:

+------------------------+
| ABS(DATE '2020-12-10') |
+------------------------+
|               20201210 |
+------------------------+

However, this depends on the argument/context.

Here’s what happens when I omit the DATE keyword:

SELECT ABS('2020-12-10');

Result:

+-------------------+
| ABS('2020-12-10') |
+-------------------+
|              2020 |
+-------------------+
1 row in set, 1 warning (0.000 sec)

Let’s check the warning:

SHOW WARNINGS;

Result:

+---------+------+------------------------------------------------+
| Level   | Code | Message                                        |
+---------+------+------------------------------------------------+
| Warning | 1292 | Truncated incorrect DOUBLE value: '2020-12-10' |
+---------+------+------------------------------------------------+

Missing Argument

Calling ABS() without an argument results in an error:

SELECT ABS();

Result:

ERROR 1582 (42000): Incorrect parameter count in the call to native function 'ABS'