Question

I’ve a query in SQL Server 2008 like this:

SELECT TOP 1 SPECIAL_CODE1 * 
  FROM CUSTOMERS 
 WHERE isnumeric(SPECIAL_CODE1)=1 
ORDER BY SPECIAL_CODE1 DESC

The query result retuns as '9970'. There are rows that have a column value of '34780' or '19850'.

How can I correct my query?

Answer 1

‘9970’ is bigger than ‘34780’ if we are talking string values (‘9’ > ‘3’). If it’s a field defined as integer, then things are of course different. Try something like

SELECT TOP 1 SPECIAL_CODE1 * FROM CUSTOMERS 
WHERE isnumeric(SPECIAL_CODE1)=1 
ORDER BY CAST (SPECIAL_CODE1 AS INTEGER) DESC