!!!TO_NUMBER 
!Functionality:
This Oracle function converts a string to a number

!Parameters:
|NUMBER    | the text string
|Format    | (optional) the format that the string is in – generally not used

!Returns: 
Number

!Errors:  
None

!Operations: 
This function is only used when Oracle (which normally does conversions for you automatically).  You might use this when converting 
 
!Example:

{{to_number(~)||  will return 123.55 when the value is ‘123.55’