The SQL data types BINARY_FLOAT and BINARY_DOUBLE represent single-precision and double-precision IEEE 754-format floating-point numbers, respectively.
BINARY_FLOAT and BINARY_DOUBLE computations do not raise exceptions.
You must check the values that they produce for conditions such as overflow and underflow by comparing them to predefined constants.
The following table lists and describes the predefined PL/SQL constants for BINARY_FLOAT and BINARY_DOUBLE.
| Constant | Description |
|---|---|
| BINARY_FLOAT_NAN1 | BINARY_FLOAT value for which the condition IS NAN (not a number) is true |
| BINARY_FLOAT_INFINITY1 | Single-precision positive infinity |
| BINARY_FLOAT_MAX_NORMAL | Maximum normal BINARY_FLOAT value |
| BINARY_FLOAT_MIN_NORMAL | Minimum normal BINARY_FLOAT value |
| BINARY_FLOAT_MAX_SUBNORMAL | Maximum subnormal BINARY_FLOAT value |
| BINARY_FLOAT_MIN_SUBNORMAL | Minimum subnormal BINARY_FLOAT value |
| BINARY_DOUBLE_NAN1 | BINARY_DOUBLE value for which the condition IS NAN (not a number) is true |
| BINARY_DOUBLE_INFINITY1 | Double-precision positive infinity |
| BINARY_DOUBLE_MAX_NORMAL | Maximum normal BINARY_DOUBLE value |
| BINARY_DOUBLE_MIN_NORMAL | Minimum normal BINARY_DOUBLE value |
| BINARY_DOUBLE_MAX_SUBNORMAL | Maximum subnormal BINARY_DOUBLE value |
| BINARY_DOUBLE_MIN_SUBNORMAL | Minimum subnormal BINARY_DOUBLE value |
Additional PL/SQL Subtypes of BINARY_FLOAT and BINARY_DOUBLE
PL/SQL predefines these subtypes:
Each subtype has the same range as its base type and has a NOT NULL constraint.
If you know that a variable will never have the value NULL, declare it as SIMPLE_FLOAT or SIMPLE_DOUBLE, rather than BINARY_FLOAT or BINARY_DOUBLE.
The performance improvement is greater with PLSQL_CODE_TYPE='NATIVE' than with PLSQL_CODE_TYPE='INTERPRETED'.