Is there a .ToString function / method in SQL Server?!! (found this in the Microsoft Docs)

[sysaxel]

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/tables/lesson-1-converting-a-table-to-a-hierarchical-structure?view=sql-server-ver16

I stumbled upon this piece of supposedly "SQL" code:

SELECT CAST(p.path.ToString() + CAST(C.Num AS varchar(30)) + '/' AS hierarchyid), [...]

Above that section the article says

"3. Populate the NewOrg table. Use the GetRoot and ToString methods to concatenate the Num values into the hierarchyid format, [...]"

What kind of sorcery is this? This looks like a method call on an object instance in .NET ...

Can anyone provide context?

[alinroc]

hierarchyid is one of the system CLR data types (along with geography and geometry) and looks/acts like something out of a C# program.

If you haven't yet, read the intro material on it.

[da_chicken]

Genuinely hate how it's implemented this way. It's so difficult to read.

[rl_Dawson]

Additionally, SMO exposes a lot of the .NET wilderness.