(re-posting this because of missing subject - sorry for the hassle)
Hi,
I need to convert Python decimal.Decimal data to the XMLSchema xs:decimal
datatype. This is reasonably straightforward, but there are some corner cases.
In particular, xs:decimal does not allow exponential notation like:
>>> print Decimal('0.00000000000000000023430000000837483727772')
2.3430000000837483727772E-19
>>>
Is there a convenient way to force a decimal.Decimal representation to not use
exponential representation?
While I've seen this decimal FAQ entry:
Q. Some decimal values always print with exponential notation. Is there a way
to get a non-exponential representation?
A. For some values, exponential notation is the only way to express the number
of significant places in the coefficient. For example, expressing 5.0E+3 as
5000 keeps the value constant but cannot show the original’s two-place
significance.
If an application does not care about tracking significance, it is easy to
remove the exponent and trailing zeroes, losing significance, but keeping the
value unchanged:
>>> def remove_exponent(d):
... return d.quantize(Decimal(1)) if d == d.to_integral() else
d.normalize()
>>> remove_exponent(Decimal('5E+3'))
Decimal('5000')
...this doesn't really apply to my usecase:
It does not work for "small" values:
remove_exponent(Decimal('0.00000000000000000023430000000837483727772'))
Decimal('2.3430000000837483727772E-19')
>>>
and it can lead to errors if the sheer number size can't be handled:
>>> d2 = Decimal('1e80')
>>> remove_exponent(d2)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
File "<stdin>", line 2, in remove_exponent
File "/apps/prod/gcc/4.2.1/lib/python2.6/decimal.py", line 2308, in quantize
'quantize result has too many digits for current context')
File "/apps/prod/gcc/4.2.1/lib/python2.6/decimal.py", line 3680, in
_raise_error
raise error(explanation)
decimal.InvalidOperation: quantize result has too many digits for current
context
>>>
I could easily adapt this recipe:
http://code.activestate.com/recipes/358361/
which works on the string and basically removes exponential notation, moves the
fraction '.'-dot and adds appropriate zeros.
Doesn't seem very lightweight, though.
Any obvious alternatives I'm missing?
Thanks,
Holger
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