VARIANT

A semi-structured type for heterogeneous or schema-on-read data. VARIANT values are typically produced by reading JSON columns. Use the -> operator to extract a field as NVARCHAR, or ->> to extract as plain text.

Comparisons

This type does not support direct comparisons with =, <, or >. Extract or cast values first.

Notes

VARIANT is produced automatically when reading JSON/NVARCHAR columns that contain structured data. Use -> and ->> operators to navigate the structure.

Limitations

• You cannot CAST any value to VARIANT — it is read-only at the SQL level.
• VARIANT values cannot be compared with = or <. Extract a field first.
• VARIANT columns cannot be used in GROUP BY, ORDER BY, or JOIN conditions directly — extract and cast first.