Understanding SQL Server Operator: A Comprehensive Guide for Dev

Hello Dev, if you are working with SQL Server, you must have come across the term operator. An operator is a symbol that represents a specific action, and it’s used in SQL Server to perform various operations on data. In this article, we will be discussing everything about SQL Server operator that Dev needs to know.

What is an Operator in SQL Server?

An Operator is a symbol that specifies the type of operation to be performed on one or more expressions in SQL Server. The operators used in SQL Server can be broadly categorized as Arithmetic Operators, Comparison Operators, Logical Operators, and Bitwise Operators.

Arithmetic Operators

Arithmetic Operators are used to perform mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Here’s a table that lists all the Arithmetic Operators used in SQL Server:

Operator	Description	Example
+	Addition	SELECT 10 + 5
–	Subtraction	SELECT 10 – 5
*	Multiplication	SELECT 10 * 5
/	Division	SELECT 10 / 5

These operators are used to perform mathematical calculations on numeric data types such as INT, FLOAT, DECIMAL, etc.

Comparison Operators

Comparison Operators are used to compare two expressions in SQL Server. These operators return Boolean values TRUE or FALSE based on the comparison result. Here’s a table that lists all the Comparison Operators used in SQL Server:

Operator	Description	Example
=	Equal to	SELECT 10 = 5
!=	Not Equal to	SELECT 10 != 5
<>	Not Equal to	SELECT 10 <> 5
>	Greater than	SELECT 10 > 5
<	Less than	SELECT 10 < 5
>=	Greater than or Equal to	SELECT 10 >= 5
<=	Less than or Equal to	SELECT 10 <= 5

These operators are used to compare expressions of different data types such as INT, FLOAT, CHAR, etc.

Logical Operators

Logical Operators are used to combine two or more Boolean expressions in SQL Server. These operators return Boolean values based on the logical operation performed. Here’s a table that lists all the Logical Operators used in SQL Server:

Operator	Description	Example
AND	Returns TRUE if all expressions are TRUE	SELECT 1 = 1 AND 2 = 2
OR	Returns TRUE if any expression is TRUE	SELECT 1 = 1 OR 2 = 3
NOT	Returns TRUE if the expression is FALSE	SELECT NOT 1 = 2

These operators are used to combine Boolean expressions such as TRUE or FALSE, and NULL values.

Bitwise Operators

Bitwise Operators are used to perform bit-level operations on two binary numbers in SQL Server. These operators return the result based on the bitwise operation performed. Here’s a table that lists all the Bitwise Operators used in SQL Server:

Operator	Description	Example
&	Bitwise AND	SELECT 2 & 1
|	Bitwise OR	SELECT 2 | 1
~	Bitwise NOT	SELECT ~2
^	Bitwise XOR	SELECT 2 ^ 1

These operators are used to perform bitwise operations on binary data types such as BINARY, VARBINARY, etc.

How to Use Operators in SQL Server?

You can use operators in SQL Server in different SQL statements such as SELECT, UPDATE, and DELETE. Here are some examples to show how to use operators in SQL Server:

SELECT Statement

The SELECT statement is used to retrieve data from one or more tables in SQL Server. Here’s an example that shows how to use arithmetic operators in the SELECT statement:

Example:

SELECT (10+5) AS Result

Output:

Result

15

Here, we have used the addition operator (+) to add the values 10 and 5, and then, we have used the alias name Result to display the result of the operation.

UPDATE Statement

The UPDATE statement is used to modify the data in a table in SQL Server. Here’s an example that shows how to use arithmetic operators in the UPDATE statement:

Example:

UPDATE Employee SET Salary = Salary * 1.1 WHERE EmployeeID = 100

Here, we have used the multiplication operator (*) to increase the salary of the employee with EmployeeID 100 by 10%.

DELETE Statement

The DELETE statement is used to delete data from a table in SQL Server. Here’s an example that shows how to use logical operators in the DELETE statement:

Example:

DELETE FROM Employee WHERE Age <= 25 OR Age >= 60

Here, we have used the logical operators (OR) to delete the records of employees whose age is less than or equal to 25 or greater than or equal to 60.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Operators in SQL Server?

Operators are symbols used in SQL Server to perform various operations on data. Operators can be categorized as Arithmetic Operators, Comparison Operators, Logical Operators, and Bitwise Operators.

How many types of Operators are there in SQL Server?

There are four types of Operators in SQL Server: Arithmetic Operators, Comparison Operators, Logical Operators, and Bitwise Operators.

How to use Operators in SQL Server?

Operators can be used in different SQL statements such as SELECT, UPDATE, and DELETE in SQL Server.

What are Arithmetic Operators in SQL Server?

Arithmetic Operators are used to perform mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division on numeric data types in SQL Server.

What are Comparison Operators in SQL Server?

Comparison Operators are used to compare two expressions in SQL Server. These operators return Boolean values TRUE or FALSE based on the comparison result.

What are Logical Operators in SQL Server?

Logical Operators are used to combine two or more Boolean expressions in SQL Server. These operators return Boolean values based on the logical operation performed.

What are Bitwise Operators in SQL Server?

Bitwise Operators are used to perform bit-level operations on two binary numbers in SQL Server. These operators return the result based on the bitwise operation performed.

We hope this article helped Dev understand SQL Server Operator better. If you have any queries, please feel free to ask in the comment section below.