TO_NUMBER

TO_NUMBER converts a string value to DOUBLE PRECISION.

Syntax

TO_NUMBER ( expression, pattern )

Semantics

expression	(CHAR or VARCHAR) specifies the string to convert
pattern	(CHAR or VARCHAR) specifies an output pattern string using the Template Patterns for Date/Time Formatting and/or Template Patterns for Numeric Formatting.

Notes

To use a double quote character in the output, precede it with a double backslash. This is necessary because the backslash already has a special meaning in a string constant. For example: '\\"YYYY Month\\"'

Examples

> SELECT TO_CHAR(1999, 'rn'), TO_NUMBER('mcmxcix', 'rn');

to_char | to_number

-----------------+-----------

mcmxcix | 1999