Re: How many pre-decimal positions/integer digits has a DECimal (5,3) defined field ?

Yes, but page 125 states that for DECIMAL, the product can give you a higher precision than asked for:

23) DECIMAL specifies the data type exact numeric, with the decimal scale specified by the <scale>

and the implementation-defined decimal precision equal to or greater than the value of the

specified <precision>.

-- 
Tibor Karaszi, SQL Server MVP
http://www.karaszi.com/sqlserver/default.asp
http://www.solidqualitylearning.com/


"Knut Stolze" <stolze_at_de.ibm.com> wrote in message news:ck75f2$6dd$1_at_fsuj29.rz.uni-jena.de...


> Alex Filonov wrote:


>

>> peterb_at_gmx.net (Peter Blatt) wrote in message

>> news:<ck4ale$n5t$00$1_at_news.t-online.com>...

>>> Does 5 represent the total numer of digits (including the fractional

>>> portion) or only the number of places BEFORE the decimal point? Moreover

>>> does the number include the decimal point?

>

> According to the SQL standard (SQL99), subclause 4.5.1 (page 22) says:

> -----------------

> An exact numeric value has a precision and a scale.  The precision is a

> positive integer that determines the number of significant digits in a

> particular radix (binary or decimal).  The scale is a non-negative integer.

> A scale of 0 (zero) indicates that the number is an integer.  For a scale

> of S, the exact numeric value is the integer value of the significant

> digits multiplied by 10^(-s).

> -----------------

>

> That makes it absolutely clear that for SQL database systems the precision

> (5 in the example above) is the total number of digits, including the

> fractional portion and without the decimal character.

>

> -- 

> Knut Stolze

> Information Integration

> IBM Germany / University of Jena