Approximate numeric data types are used to define data with a wide range of values and whose precision does not have to be exact.

Syntax

This is the syntax for an approximate data type:

{ REAL | DOUBLE PRECISION | FLOAT [ ( precision ) ]}

Parameters

REAL

Corresponds to a single precision floating‑point number equivalent to the C language float type.

DOUBLE PRECISION

Corresponds to a double precision floating‑point number equivalent to the C language double type.

FLOAT [ ( precision ) ]

Corresponds to a double precision floating‑point number of the given precision, in bytes. By default, FLOAT columns have a precision of 8. The REAL data type is same as a FLOAT(4), and double‑precision is the same as a FLOAT(8).