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Oracle
: to_number Convert an expression to a number
to_number(char[,'format'[,nls_lang)
 You can convert a character or expression 
  that contains a number into an actual number value.
  
  The 'format' must be a valid Number format.
  
  nls_lang allows international formats to be applied e.g. currency symbols and 
  numeric chars.
  
  
additional query terms:
  tonumber