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GENERATE_SERIES (Transact-SQL)

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Applies to: yesSQL Server 2022 (16.x) Preview YesAzure SQL Edge

Generates a series of numbers within a given interval. The interval and the step between series values are defined by the user.

Topic link icon Transact-SQL Syntax Conventions

Syntax

GENERATE_SERIES
(
    START = @start | start_literal | numeric_expression
    , STOP = @stop | stop_literal | numeric_expression
    [, STEP = @step | step_literal | numeric_expression ]
)

Arguments

START

The START parameter is the first value in the interval. The START parameter is specified as a variable, a literal, or a scalar expression of type tinyint, smallint, int, bigint, decimal, or numeric.

STOP

The STOP parameter is the last value in the interval. The STOP parameter is specified as a variable, a literal, or a scalar expression of type tinyint, smallint, int, bigint, decimal, or numeric. The series stops once the last generated step value exceeds the STOP value.

The data type for STOP must match the data type for START.

[ STEP ]

The STEP parameter indicates the number of values to increment or decrement between steps in the series. The STEP parameter is an expression of type tinyint, smallint, int, bigint, decimal, or numeric. STEP can be either negative or positive, but can't be zero (0)).

This argument is optional. The default value for STEP is 1 if START is less than STOP, otherwise, the default value is -1 if START is greater than STOP.

If START is less than STOP and a negative value is specified for STEP, or if START is greater than STOP and a positive value is specified for STEP, an empty result set will be returned.

Return types

Returns a single-column table containing a sequence of values in which each differs from the preceding by STEP. The name of the column is value. The output is the same type as START and STOP.

Permissions

No permissions are required for GENERATE_SERIES; however, the user needs EXECUTE permission on the database, and permission to query any data that is used as inputs.

Examples

The following examples demonstrate the syntax for calling GENERATE_SERIES.

A. Generate a series of integer values between 1 and 100 in increments of 1 (default)

SELECT value
FROM GENERATE_SERIES(START = 1, STOP = 10);

Here's the result set.

value
-----------
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

B. Generate a series of integer values between 1 and 50 in increments of 5

SELECT value
FROM GENERATE_SERIES(START = 1, STOP = 50, STEP = 5);

Here's the result set.

value
-----------
1
6
11
16
21
26
31
36
41
46

C. Generate a series of decimal values between 0.0 and 1.0 in increments of 0.1

DECLARE @start decimal(2, 1) = 0.0;
DECLARE @stop decimal(2, 1) = 1.0;
DECLARE @step decimal(2, 1) = 0.1;

SELECT value
FROM GENERATE_SERIES(START = @start, STOP = @stop, STEP = @step);

Here's the result set.

value
---------------------------------------
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0

See also