strange function result

I have created the following function:

create or replace function AGE(a_bdate employee.bdate%type) return INT IS
age INT;
Begin
select trunc(MONTHS_BETWEEN(SYSDATE, BDATE)/12) into age from employee
where bdate = a_bdate;
RETURN age;
END AGE; here is some sample data I get when I use it:

BDATE AGE

--------- ----------
09-JAN-55         42
15-SEP-52         44
19-JUL-58         38
20-JUN-31        -34
08-DEC-45        -48
31-JUL-62         34
29-MAR-59         37
10-NOV-27        -30
10-OCT-65         31
19-DEC-70         26
28-JAN-03         -5

The problem calculates properly for the more recent birthdates, but later birthdates return a negative value. I explored the MONTHS_BETWEEN function and it returns INT type which is at least 2 bytes so I shouldn't be exceeding the range because i'm not close to 32,000. I know it can't be 1 byte because ex. 2 with age of 44 equals a MONTHS_BETWEEN of 528, which would be out of a 1 byte range and it works fine for it.

If anyone has any ideas as to what my problem might be please drop me a line. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Frankie Medlock
medlocrf_at_dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu Received on Sun Feb 09 1997 - 00:00:00 CST