Convert integer to text in SQLite's SELECT query?

Digging deeper: Why cast?

In SQLite, casting an integer to text involves the CAST function. The function is your golden ticket 🎫. It helps SQLite view the integer value from a text perspective. Extremely valuable when you need to concatenate numbers with strings or output needs formatting.

Broadening your toolkit: Other methods and edge cases

Concatenation: The secret alternative

Beyond our good friend CAST, there's another sneaky way to convert integers to text using concatenation:

-- It's like adding salt to soup. Except this is an empty string to integers. 
SELECT column_name || '' FROM table_name;


This implicitly coaxes column_name into text by appending nada, zip, zilch (an empty string).

Beware the anomalies!

Casting can sometimes unmask surprising results, like scientific notation springing up for large numbers. Always ensure the output matches your expectations.

Null and Void

If you're dealing with NULL integers, note that casting them will also yield NULL text. To circumvent this, meet COALESCE:

-- Like a good safety net, turning NULL into zeroes before casting
SELECT CAST(COALESCE(column_name, 0) AS TEXT) FROM table_name;


This ensures NULLs become '0' instead, before casting.

Encoding peculiarities

During casting, the output text aligns with the encoding of your database connection. Particularly important for mortals wrestling with non-ASCII characters. SQLite databases usually wear UTF-8, UTF-16be, or UTF-16le encodings. To discern your database's encoding, consider PRAGMA encoding;.

Using casting in real-world scenarios

Data extraction and manipulation

Sometimes you might need to export SQLite data like an undercover agent (think James Bond) for other systems or reports. Here, integers need to play it cool and pretend to be text. Casting helps them blend in.

Constructing dynamic queries

When your queries depend on user inputs or variable contents, converting integers to text is the right disguise to save the day.

Eliminating inconsistency

In certain cases, output must maintain uniformity. You know, like minions 🍌. When merging datasets of mixed types, casting integers to text guarantees typographic consistency across columns.