float value "0.00007136" is stored as "7.136E-05" in azure sql database

Question

float value "0.00007136" is stored as "7.136E-05" in azure sql database

Pankaj Joshi 391

I have a table with float column and trying to insert value "0.00007136" but it end up showing as "7.136E-05"

I have tried cast float , cast decimal, everything but still it is adding in table like that.

I am using simple insert statement and executing in microsoft sql server management studio

Please advise?

Saraswathi Devadula 5,570 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-06-18T09:44:50.3166667+00:00

Hello Pankaj Joshi

Just checking in to see if the below answer helped. If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

1 answer

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Saraswathi Devadula 5,570 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-06-18T09:44:50.3166667+00:00

Hello Pankaj Joshi

Just checking in to see if the below answer helped. If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

Answer 1

Balmukund 176 Microsoft Employee

The value 0.00007136 being displayed as 7.136E-05 is due to how SQL Server (and many other systems) format floating-point numbers. This is a display formatting issue, not a data accuracy issue.

DROP TABLE IF EXISTS t1
GO
CREATE TABLE t1 (i INT, j FLOAT)
GO
INSERT INTO t1 VALUES (1, 0.00007136)
GO
SELECT j,   CAST(j AS NUMERIC(10,8)), 
			CAST(j AS DECIMAL(10,8)), 
			FORMAT(j, '0.00000000')  
FROM t1

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Erland Sommarskog 121.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2025-06-17T21:27:08.7066667+00:00

To be precise, SQL Server displays nothing. SQL Server just returns bits to the client. In case of a float value, this consists of 53 bits for the mantissa, 11 bits to express a power 2, and then there is one sign bit for each of them. Those raw bits are not particularly to easy to understand for a human, but a client like SSMS will produce a string representation of the value. For a certain range, the client will display the number as integer or decimal. But if the number falls outside of that range, the presentation is in so-called scientific representation with a decimal number combined with a power of 10.

For SSMS you have no control over how it formats float values, but if you write you own program, you can write your own formatting method. You can also do the formatting in T-SQL, for instance with FORMAT as in Balmukund's example. There are situations where upi may want to do this, but for a regular application it is better to do it client-side, so that that the user's regional settings can be respected.
Saraswathi Devadula 5,570 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-06-19T09:03:36.7133333+00:00

Hello Pankaj Joshi
Just checking in to see if the above answer provided by @Balmukund helped.

If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

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float value "0.00007136" is stored as "7.136E-05" in azure sql database

1 answer

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