Retrieving the first digit of a number [duplicate]

Answer 1

This example works for any double, not just positive integers and takes into account negative numbers or those less than one. For example, 0.000053 would return 5.

private static int getMostSignificantDigit(double value) {
    value = Math.abs(value);
    if (value == 0) return 0;
    while (value < 1) value *= 10;
    char firstChar = String.valueOf(value).charAt(0);
    return Integer.parseInt(firstChar + "");
}

To get the first digit, this sticks with String manipulation as it is far easier to read.