Avoid inserting exponential value in DB Float column

Question

I have a table like

CONTACT

Name                           Null     Type                                                                                                


        

Answer 1

It isn't stored as an exponential, it's stored in Oracle's internal number representation. When you query it, it's displayed with your sessions's current number format:

select 0.0000000555559080767 from dual;

                  0.0000000555559080767
---------------------------------------
                                5.6E-08

Which you can override in SQL*Plus or SQL Developer:

set numformat 999.9999999999999999999
select 0.0000000555559080767 from dual;

   0.0000000555559080767
------------------------
    .0000000555559080767

Or explicitly format the value as a string, for display only:

set numf ""
select to_char(0.0000000555559080767, '9990.9999999999999999999') from dual;

TO_CHAR(0.000000055555908
-------------------------
    0.0000000555559080767

If you have a client application retrieving and using the value then it should query it as a float, into a suitable data type for the client's language, and then it's up to the client how it's displayed.

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You also shouldn't be inserting a string into the float column, that just does an implicit conversion; the last argument in your insert should be 0.0000000555559080767 rather than the quoted '0.0000000555559080767'.