DecimalSeparator

Description

Specifies the decimal separator setting used by the back-end DBMS that you are accessing in PowerBuilder. If your DBMS uses a decimal separator other than period (.), which is the default, set DecimalSeparator to the value for your DBMS to ensure that PowerBuilder correctly handles numeric strings returned from your database.

Applies to

ADO.NET

ODBC (if driver and back-end DBMS support this feature)

OLE DB

O90 Oracle9i

O10 Oracle 10g

ORA Oracle (for 11g and later)

SNC SQL Native Client for Microsoft SQL Server

MSOLEDBSQL Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server

Syntax

DecimalSeparator='value'

Parameter

Description

value

The decimal separator setting used by the back-end DBMS that you are accessing in PowerBuilder. Values are:

  • '.'

    (Default) Specifies that your back-end DBMS uses a period (.) as the decimal separator. If you do not specify DecimalSeparator or if you specify a value other than period (.) or comma (,), PowerBuilder uses period (.) as the decimal separator.

  • ','

    Specifies that your back-end DBMS uses a comma (,) as the decimal separator.


Default value

DecimalSeparator='.'

Usage

When to set DecimalSeparator

The DecimalSeparator parameter currently supports period (.) and comma (,) as valid values. Therefore, if the decimal separator setting for your DBMS is a comma, you should set the DecimalSeparator parameter to ',' (comma) to make sure PowerBuilder correctly handles numeric strings returned from your database.

Example using Oracle

Assume you are accessing an Oracle database in PowerBuilder and the decimal separator setting is a comma (,). Oracle returns to PowerBuilder the numeric string '123,50' containing a comma instead of a period as the decimal separator. PowerBuilder then sends this string to its decimal conversion routines.

By default, the PowerBuilder decimal conversion routines expect a period as the decimal separator. If you set the DecimalSeparator parameter to ',' (comma), PowerBuilder correctly handles this string and returns it as '123,50'.

Examples

To specify that your DBMS uses a comma (,) as the decimal separator setting:

  • Database profile

    Type a comma (,) in the Decimal Separator box on the Syntax page in the Database Profile Setup dialog box.

  • Application

    Type the following in code:

    SQLCA.DBParm="DecimalSeparator=','"

See also

NumericFormat