A FORMAT phrase that defines fewer positions than are required by numeric values causes the data to be returned as follows:
- Asterisks appear when the integer portion cannot be accommodated.
- When only the integer portion can be accommodated, any digits to the right of the least significant digit are either truncated (for an integer value) or rounded (for a floating, number, or decimal value).
Rounding is based on “Round to the Nearest” mode, as illustrated by the following process.
- Let B represent the actual result.
- Let A and C represent the nearest bracketing values that can be represented, such that A < B < C.
- The determination as to whether A or C is the represented result is made as follows
- When possible, the result is the value nearest to B.
- If A and C are equidistant (for example, the fractional part is exactly .5), the result is the even number.