Format BigDecimal without scientific notation with full precision

Question

I'd like to convert a BigDecimal to String for printing purposes but print out all digits without scientific notation. For example:

BigDecimal d = BigDecimal.valueOf(12334535345456700.12345634534534578901);
String out = d.toString(); // Or perform any formatting that needs to be done
System.out.println(out);

I'd like to get 12334535345456700.12345634534534578901 printed. Right now I get: 1.23345353454567E+16.

`System.out.println(out);` not `System.out.println(output);` — Iswanto San, Apr 05 '13 at 13:16
Part of the problem is `12334535345456700.12345634534534578901` is truncated to `1.23345353454567E+16` even before the value is passed into the `BigDecimal` constructor, because constant double values in your code don't have that much precision. You can verify this by simply trying to store it in a `double` variable instead and printing it out: http://ideone.com/j5FKp1. You need to start with the value as a string if you want the extra precision. — mellamokb, Apr 05 '13 at 13:17

Reimeus · Accepted Answer · 2014-12-23T22:46:13.553

64

To preserve the precision for a BigDecimal you need to pass the value in as a String

BigDecimal d = new BigDecimal("12334535345456700.12345634534534578901");
System.out.println(d.toPlainString());

edited Dec 23 '14 at 22:46

answered Apr 05 '13 at 13:16

Reimeus

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It will only print 12334535345456700 – Achintya Jha Apr 05 '13 at 13:17
Prints `12334535345456700.12345634534534578901` for me :) – Reimeus Apr 05 '13 at 13:17
Prints out fine for me to. Are you using `BigInteger` by any chance? – christopher Apr 05 '13 at 13:18
for me it prints 12334535345456700 only . Dont know why? – Achintya Jha Apr 05 '13 at 13:19
2

@AchintyaJha: You are including the quotes around the number, right? That was a change from the original code (albeit not clearly explained) – mellamokb Apr 05 '13 at 13:20
@mellamokb Thanks. I was not including quotes. – Achintya Jha Apr 05 '13 at 13:23
This would still print in scientific notation for some numbers like `2E+2` for string `"200"`. Use the `toPlainString()` on the `BigDecimal` instead. `new BigDecimal("4930592405923095023950238502395.3259023950235902").toPlainString()` – Raj Narayanan Dec 15 '22 at 18:56

score 24 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 05 '13 at 13:16

The BigDecimal class has a toPlainString method. Call this method instead of the standard toString and it will print out the full number without scientific notation.

Example

BigDecimal b = new BigDecimal("4930592405923095023950238502395.3259023950235902");
System.out.println(b.toPlainString());

Output: 4930592405923095023950238502395.3259023950235902

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 05 '13 at 13:15

3

You want to use a DecimalFormat:

DecimalFormat df = new DecimalFormat("#.#");  
String output = df .format(myBD);
System.out.println(value + " " + output);

answered Apr 05 '13 at 13:15

Woot4Moo

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score -1 · Answer 4 · answered Apr 05 '13 at 13:16

-1

You could use this

BigDecimal d = BigDecimal.valueOf(12334535345456700.12345634534534578901);
String out= d.toPlainString();
System.out.println(out);

answered Apr 05 '13 at 13:16

Waqas Memon

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-1 The problem is in the precision of the original number being passed as a double. You could at least do your due diligence and test this with ideone, which takes all of 30 seconds: http://ideone.com/n137Cs – mellamokb Apr 05 '13 at 13:19
how come did you accept that new BigDecimal(String value); from Reimeus can work? i guess BigDecimal.valueOf does not accept Strings in constructor? does it? – Waqas Memon Apr 05 '13 at 13:24
Right, I believe `valueOf` is only for passing in numeric values. You will need to use the constructor to pass in a string value. – mellamokb Apr 05 '13 at 13:25
BigDecimal d = BigDecimal.valueOf("12334535345456700.12345634534534578901"); //is a compile time error The method valueOf(long) in the type BigDecimal is not applicable for the arguments (String) . . BigDecimal d = new BigDecimal("12334535345456700.12345634534534578901"); //correct one.. – Waqas Memon Apr 05 '13 at 13:25

Format BigDecimal without scientific notation with full precision

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