When a variable is defined, it is automatically initialized by the runtime system to a default value. The default value the variable is assigned with depends on the data type.
| data type | Default Value |
|---|---|
| CHAR | NULL |
| VARCHAR | NULL |
| STRING | NULL |
| INTEGER | Zero |
| SMALLINT | Zero |
| FLOAT | Zero |
| SMALLFLOAT | Zero |
| DECIMAL | NULL |
| MONEY | NULL |
| DATE | 1899-12-31 (= Zero in number of days) |
| DATETIME | NULL |
| INTERVAL | NULL |
| TEXT | NULL, must use LOCATE |
| BYTE | NULL, must use LOCATE |