data type for large decimals

[varun bihani]

How do I store values like 1.6666666666666666666 ?
double wont work

[Scott Johnson]

BigDecimal?

[varun bihani]

how to use it ?

[Edwin Dalorzo]

Have you already read the API javadoc?.

[Sanjaya Sugiarto]

First of all value 1.6666666666666666666 fits in double.

Second, the JavaDoc of BigDecimal: http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/docs/api/java/math/BigDecimal.html

Third, how to use BigDecimal:

    
BigDecimal bd = new BigDecimal(1.6666666666666666666);
System.out.println(bd.doubleValue());

[Scott Johnson]

[Sanjaya]First of all value 1.6666666666666666666 fits in double.

Not really. A double cannot store 20 significant digits. If you store it in a double, it'll be rounded to fewer significant digits.

[B][Sanjaya]Third, how to use BigDecimal:

BigDecimal bd = new BigDecimal(1.6666666666666666666);
System.out.println(bd.doubleValue());

[/B]

If you do this, the parameter value will be treated as a double and will be rounded for the reason stated above. To create a BigDecimal with more signficant digits than can fit in a double, you'll need to use one of the other constructors.

Also, bd.doubleValue() returns a double. Assuming you get the BigDecimal created with the full 20 digits and then call doubleValue(), you'll encounter same problem -- the value will be rounded to fit into a double. To print the BigDecimal, use the toString() method instead:

System.out.println(bd);

[ October 26, 2006: Message edited by: Scott Johnson ]