title: Oracle Number data type and its strictness
body: <p>I'm very new to oracle but I've been learning about it in class and I've recently come across the <code>number</code> data type. I've read the documentation regarding scale and precision (s,p) but I still am not positive regarding the type's proper usage.</p>
  
  <p>Let's say I want to store percent values as a decimal. The decimal can be anywhere from 0 to 1 and may have up to 3 numbers following the decimal place.</p>
  
  <p>Some possible decimals to be stored may include:</p>
  
  <pre><code>.66
  .553
  1.00
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>If I were to make the column <code>NUMBER(4,3)</code> would that work EVEN IF there were only two numbers? See below</p>
  
  <pre><code>.22
  .10
  .35
  etc...
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>In short, does the number type require that the EXACT sizes are met? Eg. Would NUMBER(4,3) ABSOLUTELY REQUIRE that the data inserted is 4 numbers, 3 of them falling after the decimal place?</p>
  
  <p>Thanks for the help!</p>