Decimal characters

Question

Hi,
We have many varchar2 columns in the database which can contain, for example '24.00' (here "." is the decimal separator), but when i run the following query on my machine i got that error
SQL> select to_number('24.99') from dual;
select to_number('24.99') from dual
ORA-01722: invalid number
SQL> However, for example on other machines, it executes successfully. If i run select to_number('24*,*99') from dual , it executes successfully.
I know this can be avoided by using a mask in to_number, but i don't want this.
I tried to set the "." as the decimal separator from Control Panel -> Regional and language settings, but with no effect.
The db version is Oracle Database 11gR2 (11.2.0.2).
Thanks
Edited by: Roger22 on 28.12.2012 13:53

Answer 1

See this demo in detail :
Connected to:
Oracle Database 11g Enterprise Edition Release 11.2.0.1.0 - 64bit Production
With the Partitioning, OLAP, Data Mining and Real Application Testing options
SQL> select value from nls_session_parameters
  2  where parameter = 'NLS_NUMERIC_CHARACTERS'
  3  /
VALUE
SQL> select to_number('24.99') from dual;
TO_NUMBER('24.99')
             24.99
I did not not got any error, because my  'NLS_NUMERIC_CHARACTERS' are .,  Ok, what if I change it to your environment :
SQL> alter session set NLS_NUMERIC_CHARACTERS=',.';
Session altered.
SQL> select to_number('24.99') from dual;
select to_number('24.99') from dual
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-01722: invalid number
This is your error position in the question.
SQL> select to_number('24.99','99D99','nls_numeric_characters=.,') VALUE FROM DUAL;
     VALUE
     24,99
and this is the solution.
SQL> alter session set NLS_NUMERIC_CHARACTERS='.,';
Session altered.
SQL> select to_number('24.99') from dual;
TO_NUMBER('24.99')
             24.99
SQL>If you wish that it should be ., for ever, you can say :
alter system set NLS_NUMERIC_CHARACTERS='.,' scope=spfile; and restart the database. (when ever you can take down time of the database, till then you can use alter session.. as per above command)
Regards
Girish Sharma