What is the usage of the sign function in Oracle?

The SIGN function in Oracle is used to return the sign of a number. Its usage is as follows:

Graphical representation of the symbol x.

x is an expression of a numerical value.

The SIGN function returns an integer value representing the sign of x. The return value is as follows:

1. If x is a positive number, return 1.
2. Return -1 if x is a negative number.
3. If x is 0, then return 0.

For example, SIGN(12) will return 1, SIGN(-5) will return -1, and SIGN(0) will return 0.

The SIGN function is very useful in handling logical judgments based on the sign of a number. For instance, it can be used to determine if a number is positive, negative, or zero, and then perform different operations based on the result.