currency data type

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Dylan Moran - 21 Jul 2005 06:27 GMT

I have not worked with the currency values in MS Access before.
However now I find myself having to now include this information in a
database.
My question is simple, I assume I use the currency data type and not number.
Are there any quirks, hints, traps or tips anyone has with working with the
currency data type.

I will have to do calculations such as totals, differences, grand totals etc
for various recordsets and individual reocrds.

If there is nothing of note that springs to mind, ignore my post and thatnks
for reading.
I understand I have not posted a specific question, but thought I just might
canvass the subject before diving in and find out later that 'you should have
done XYZ ... everyone does that'. You feedback, time and experience is
appreciated.

Signature

I may not know VBA inside out, but from the outside I am looking in.
Dylan Moran - Melbourne Australia

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Allen Browne - 21 Jul 2005 06:59 GMT

Go ahead and use it. The currency type is reliable in all versions of
Access.

Internally, Currency is a fixed point number, i.e. it always has 4 decimal
places stored regardless of how the value is displayed. In Australia, that
equates to hundredths of a cent. If you are storing calculated results, you
may want to round to 2 places before storing so you don't get rounding
errors when totalling later.

Signature

Allen Browne - Microsoft MVP. Perth, Western Australia.
Tips for Access users - http://allenbrowne.com/tips.html
Reply to group, rather than allenbrowne at mvps dot org.

>I have not worked with the currency values in MS Access before.
> However now I find myself having to now include this information in a
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> done XYZ ... everyone does that'. You feedback, time and experience is
> appreciated.

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Jamie Collins - 21 Jul 2005 12:32 GMT

> Go ahead and use it. The currency type is reliable in all versions of
> Access.

Another view is to write standard portable code. A successful database
won't stay in Access <g and duck>.

CURRENCY is Access only (SQL Server has a MONEY proprietary data type
which is seriously flawed). That's why I use DECIMAL(n,4).

Allen Browne famously doesn't like the DECIMAL data type. He mistakenly
thinks the flaw in the cursor engine, which means TOP N (again
proprietary syntax and uses a cursor) and ORDER BY (again is a cursor)
give wrong results, is a flaw in the data engine. Just as well he's
wrong because the data engine uses DECIMAL internally!

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