# Newbie: Invalid number dealing with Identity columns in Orac

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-invalid-number-dealing-with-identity-columns-in-orac/79494>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [December 15, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-invalid-number-dealing-with-identity-columns-in-orac/79494 "2006-12-15T18:01:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![gpatino](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@gpatino](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/gpatino)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-invalid-number-dealing-with-identity-columns-in-orac/79494/1 "2006-12-15T18:01:29Z")

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Hi all,

I wonder how can I solve in RoR the problem of accessing a simple table  
because the URL

[http://localhost:3000/customers/show/2.0](http://localhost:3000/customers/show/2.0)

is raising an Oracle error OCIError: ORA-01722: invalid number.

The reason of this error is because the SELECT statement generated by  
ActiveRecord tries to invoke the id column as a VARCHAR :

"… FROM customers WHERE customers.id = ‘2.0’ "

How this can be solved?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Gregorio

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gpatino](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@gpatino](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/gpatino)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-invalid-number-dealing-with-identity-columns-in-orac/79494/2 "2006-12-15T19:13:42Z")

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It looks like you are trying to match an integer (INT) with a text  
string (VARCHAR) and that is what Oracle is complaning about. You  
should drop the quotes in the select statement.

/Remko.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gpatino](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@gpatino](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/gpatino)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-invalid-number-dealing-with-identity-columns-in-orac/79494/3 "2006-12-15T20:49:58Z")

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Hi Remko,

But the problem is that I am using the Rails scaffold, so I don’t have  
control of the ActiveRecord statements, and I am pretty sure that my  
id column is a number (and my table, columns are named as the RoR  
documentation suggests).

This is my first experience with RoR and Oracle, and I would like to  
know if someone, trying to implement a basic CRUD application using an  
Oracle Database, a simple table and a sequence, have solved.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gpatino](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@gpatino](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/gpatino)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 9:10pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-invalid-number-dealing-with-identity-columns-in-orac/79494/4 "2006-12-15T21:10:04Z")

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When did the params[:id] before a float ???  
Shouldn’t that be;  
[http://localhost:3000/cusomters/show/2](http://localhost:3000/cusomters/show/2)  
not  
[http://localhost:3000/customers/show/2.0](http://localhost:3000/customers/show/2.0)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gpatino](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@gpatino](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/gpatino)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-invalid-number-dealing-with-identity-columns-in-orac/79494/5 "2006-12-15T21:26:10Z")

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Hi Bruce,

You’re right, It’s supposed to be

“[http://localhost:3000/cusomters/show/2](http://localhost:3000/cusomters/show/2)”

But, I am just trying to implement my first RoR application against an  
Oracle DB.  
So, I don’t know why the Rail scaffold is generating my application  
implementing my Id as a VARCHAR, it should be a NUMBER. My question is  
how  
to solve the problem within my generation process ( I mean the only  
things I  
have made are: installing the oci8 gem, generate my app and then use  
the  
rails scripting to get my customers CRUD…)

Thanks again for your help…

2006/12/15, Bruce W. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid):

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gpatino](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@gpatino](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/gpatino)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-invalid-number-dealing-with-identity-columns-in-orac/79494/6 "2006-12-15T21:48:15Z")

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Hi all,

It was solved. It was and NLS issue, but it could happen to you if you  
are not located in the US.

We have to be sure that the way that RoR is generating the numbers,  
dates and so, are compliant with the NLS settings of the target  
database.

Thank you all for your time and help.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gpatino](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@gpatino](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/gpatino)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/newbie-invalid-number-dealing-with-identity-columns-in-orac/79494/7 "2006-12-15T21:48:14Z")

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Are you saying that then you ran your migration code, rails created  
the id column with a type of varchar ?