Introduction:

In this tutorial, we are going to explain how to use Oracle TO_NUMBER function with basic syntax and many examples for better understanding.

TO_NUMBER function convert characters to a number.

Syntax:

TO_NUMBER(string, [format_mask], [nls_parameter] )

• string: The string you want to convert to number.
• format_mask: The format that we can use to convert the value to a string.
• nls_parameter : nls_lang specified to convert value to number in particular language.

Applies to::

Oracle 19c, Oracle 18c, Oracle 12c, Oracle 11g, Oracle 10g, Oracle 9i, Oracle 8i

Examples:

Let’s take some examples about Oracle TO_NUMBER and how to use it:

SELECT TO_NUMBER(5340.86, '9999.99')
FROM DUAL;

SELECT TO_NUMBER('21')
FROM   DUAL;

Similar oracle functions:

TO_DATE – converts a string value to a DATE type.
TO_CHAR – converts a value to a NUMBER type
CAST – used for many types, including dates

In this tutorial, you have learned how to use the Oracle TO_NUMBER function to convert characters to a number .

Hopefully, it was clear and concise.