Data type conversion functions convert arguments from one data type to another.
Table 4-3 lists the data type conversion functions and their parameters.
Data type conversion function  | 
Parameters  | 
|---|---|
BIGINTTOHEX  | 
( integer-expression )  | 
CAST  | 
( expression AS data type )  | 
CONVERT  | 
( data type, expression [ , format-style ] )  | 
HEXTOBIGINT  | 
( hexadecimal-string )  | 
HEXTOINT  | 
( hexadecimal-string )  | 
INTTOHEX  | 
( integer-expr )  | 
ISDATE  | 
( string )  | 
ISNUMERIC  | 
( string )  | 
The DATE, DATETIME, DATEFORMAT, and YMD functions that convert expressions to dates, timestamps, or strings based on a date format are listed in “Date and time functions”. The STRING function, which converts expressions to a string, is discussed in the section “String functions”.
The database server carries out many type conversions automatically. For example, if a string is supplied where a numerical expression is required, the string is automatically converted to a number. For more information on automatic data type conversions carried out by Sybase IQ, see “Data type conversions”.