What is the difference between defining a column as Float without length specification and as Float 9,3 or Decimal 9,3 in MySQL?

Defining a column as Float without length specification in MySQL allows for a floating-point number with a variable precision, while specifying Float 9,3 or Decimal 9,3 sets a fixed precision of 9 total digits with 3 digits after the decimal point. This means that Float without length specification can store a wider range of values but may not be as precise as Float 9,3 or Decimal 9,3 which have a fixed precision. 

// Defining a column as Float without length specification
$sql = "CREATE TABLE example_table (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    float_column FLOAT
)";

// Defining a column as Float 9,3
$sql = "CREATE TABLE example_table (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    float_column FLOAT(9,3)
)";

// Defining a column as Decimal 9,3
$sql = "CREATE TABLE example_table (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    decimal_column DECIMAL(9,3)
)";

Keywords

PHP MySQL Float Decimal Column Definition

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