RE: Isnumeric question

>-----Original Message-----
>From: ml-errors_at_fatcity.com [mailto:ml-errors_at_fatcity.com]On Behalf Of Teresita Castro
>
>I want to made something like this ina query
>
>select decode( isnumeric(line_comment), to_number(line_comment),0)
>
>how can I do this in Oracle?

First you need to define what "isnumeric" means to you. Does it mean

a) this string only contains ASCII characters 0 through 9
b) this string only contains ASCII characters 0 through 9 with maybe one decimal point (as determined by my NLS settings)'
c) this string only contains ASCII characters 0 through 9 with maybe one decimal point and group separators (as determined by my NLS settings)
d) 'this string contains a valid ORACLE number constant' e.g. -2.3e+10 is a valid number?
e) something else (minus signs, etc.)

If the answer is d), then (from an old idea by Jared Still) create your own function create function is_number (str in varchar2)

   return number
is

   x number ;
begin

   x := to_number (str) ;
   return 1 ;
exception

   when value_error
   then

      return 0 ;
   when others
   then

      raise ;
end ;
/

-- 
Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net
-- 
Author: Jacques Kilchoer
  INET: Jacques.Kilchoer_at_quest.com

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