SQL Server – PARSE() and TRY_PARSE() conversion functions

PARSE() and TRY_PARSE() are new conversion function introduced in SQL Server Denali.

TRY_PARSE() tries to translate the result of an expression to specified data type if the translation is possible, otherwise, it returns NULL.

PARSE() tries to translate the result of an expression to specified data type if the translation is possible, otherwise, it returns error.

Also, we can also specify the CULTURE, during this conversion.  CULTURE, means a language which will used by SQL Server to interpret data.

If the culture argument is not provided, then the language of the current session is used. This language is set either implicitly, or explicitly by using the SET LANGUAGE statement. culture accepts any culture supported by the .NET Framework; it is not limited to the languages explicitly supported by SQL Server. If the culture argument is not valid, PARSE raises an error.