6-1. Converting a String to a Number
Problem
You need to convert some strings into numbers. For instance, your application contains several strings that are entered via a user input screen. These strings need to be converted into numbers so that they can be used to perform calculations.
Solution
Use the TO_NUMBER function to explicitly convert the VARCHAR2 field into a NUMBER. The following examples demonstrate the use of TO_NUMBER by showing how to convert some currency values taken from the user interface into numbers for storage in the database.
The first example demonstrates the conversion of a variable with a datatype of VARCHAR2 into a NUMBER:
DECLARE
in_dollars VARCHAR2(10) := &dollars;
dollars_formatted NUMBER; BEGIN ...Get Oracle and PL/SQL Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
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