MySQL CAST vs. CONVERT

Question

Let's say that I have a VARCHAR (which contains numeric data) that I want to use for a simple computation (adding 10 to it). According to the MySQL documentation on CAST functions, I could accomplish this with either a CAST or a CONVERT:

SELECT (CAST(field1 AS SIGNED)) + 10
FROM myTable;

or:

SELECT (CONVERT(field1,SIGNED)) + 10
FROM myTable;

What is the difference between CAST and CONVERT in this sense? Are they both really accomplishing the same thing?

Answer 1

Yes, CAST and CONVERT to the same thing, except that CONVERT allows more options, such as changing character set with USING.

Answer 2

Convert and cast docs. Aside from the syntax I believe they can functionally be considered synonyms, even when trying to change character sets.