# ABS or ABSVAL function

The ABS or ABSVAL function returns the absolute value of a numeric expression.

The return type is the type of the parameter. All built-in numeric types are supported (DECIMAL, DOUBLE PRECISION, FLOAT, INTEGER, BIGINT, NUMERIC, REAL, and SMALLINT).

## Syntax

    ABS ( numericExpression )

    ABSVAL ( numericExpression )

## Example

    -- returns 3
    VALUES ABS(-3)

Parent topic: Built-in functions