TO_CHAR (Numbers)

Converts numeric values to text strings. TO_CHAR also converts dates to strings.

TO_CHAR converts double values to text strings as follows:

•Converts double values of up to 16 digits to strings and provides accuracy up to 15 digits. If you pass a number with more than 15 digits, TO_CHAR rounds the number based on the sixteenth digit and returns the string representation of the number in scientific notation. For example, 1234567890123456 double value converts to '1.23456789012346e+015' string value.
•Returns decimal notation for numbers in the ranges (-1e16,-1e-16] and [1e-16, 1e16). TO_CHAR returns scientific notation for numbers outside these ranges. For example, 10842764968208837340 double value converts to '1.08427649682088e+019' string value.

TO_CHAR converts decimal values to text strings as follows:

•In high precision mode, TO_CHAR converts decimal values of up to 28 digits to strings. If you pass a decimal value with more than 28 digits, TO_CHAR returns scientific notation for numbers greater than 28 digits.
•In low precision mode, TO_CHAR treats decimal values as double values.

TO_CHAR( numeric_value )

The following table describes the argument for this command:

Argument	Required/ Optional	Description
numeric_value	Required	Numeric data type. The numeric value you want to convert to a string. You can enter any valid transformation expression.

String.

NULL if a value passed to the function is NULL.

The following expression converts the double values in the SALES port to strings:

TO_CHAR( SALES )

SALES	RETURN VALUE
1010.99	'1010.99'
-15.62567	'-15.62567'
10842764968208837340	'1.08427649682088e+019' (rounded based on the 16th digit and returns the value in scientific notation)
236789034569723	'236789034569723'
0	'0'
33.15	'33.15'
NULL	NULL

The following expression converts the decimal values in the SALES port to strings in high precision mode:

TO_CHAR( SALES )