Function cast

lib/sqlalchemy/sql/_elements_constructors.py:868–924

r"""Produce a ``CAST`` expression. :func:`.cast` returns an instance of :class:`.Cast`. E.g.:: from sqlalchemy import cast, Numeric stmt = select(cast(product_table.c.unit_price, Numeric(10, 4))) The above statement will produce SQL resembling: .. sourcecode:: s

(
    expression: _ColumnExpressionOrLiteralArgument[Any],
    type_: _TypeEngineArgument[_T],
)

def cast(
    expression: _ColumnExpressionOrLiteralArgument[Any],
    type_: _TypeEngineArgument[_T],
) -> Cast[_T]:
    r"""Produce a ``CAST`` expression.

    :func:`.cast` returns an instance of :class:`.Cast`.

    E.g.::

        from sqlalchemy import cast, Numeric

        stmt = select(cast(product_table.c.unit_price, Numeric(10, 4)))

    The above statement will produce SQL resembling:

    .. sourcecode:: sql

        SELECT CAST(unit_price AS NUMERIC(10, 4)) FROM product

    The :func:`.cast` function performs two distinct functions when
    used.  The first is that it renders the ``CAST`` expression within
    the resulting SQL string.  The second is that it associates the given
    type (e.g. :class:`.TypeEngine` class or instance) with the column
    expression on the Python side, which means the expression will take
    on the expression operator behavior associated with that type,
    as well as the bound-value handling and result-row-handling behavior
    of the type.

    An alternative to :func:`.cast` is the :func:`.type_coerce` function.
    This function performs the second task of associating an expression
    with a specific type, but does not render the ``CAST`` expression
    in SQL.

    :param expression: A SQL expression, such as a
     :class:`_expression.ColumnElement`
     expression or a Python string which will be coerced into a bound
     literal value.

    :param type\_: A :class:`.TypeEngine` class or instance indicating
     the type to which the ``CAST`` should apply.

    .. seealso::

        :ref:`tutorial_casts`

        :func:`.try_cast` - an alternative to CAST that results in
        NULLs when the cast fails, instead of raising an error.
        Only supported by some dialects.

        :func:`.type_coerce` - an alternative to CAST that coerces the type
        on the Python side only, which is often sufficient to generate the
        correct SQL and data coercion.


    """
    return Cast(expression, type_)