February 24, 2026
Hot bytes, cold takes
Decimal-Java is a library to convert java.math.BigDecimal to and from IEEE-754r
Java’s new number converter has Firebird fans cheering and speed freaks fuming
TLDR: A new Java library converts big-number values into standard decimal formats to talk cleanly with Firebird’s DECFLOAT. Fans praise the practical bridge, while critics slam the “no-math” design and worry about speed; finance folks say it’s great for money, but warn smaller formats lose precision at higher amounts.
A niche Java library just dropped and somehow sparked a full-on comment war. Decimal-Java converts Java’s big-number type (BigDecimal) to and from IEEE-754 decimal formats—think tidy, standardized ways to store money numbers—because the Firebird database added a fancy “DECFLOAT” type. The code is stable, MIT-licensed, and it doesn’t even try to do math—just converts and rounds where needed.
Cue the crowd: Firebird lifers are thrilled, with one fan calling it the “underrated database that’s easy like SQLite but fully featured,” plus a shoutout to real ALTER TABLE support. Meanwhile, the drama lands on design: one critic groaned, “You built a whole class for a protocol type... that doesn’t do math?” The performance brigade worries about bytes-to-BigDecimal overhead, painting this as a slow path for a fast problem.
Then the finance folks enter: an accountant-friendly voice says this is “great news” for banking, but warns decimal32—the tiny format—starts dropping penny precision around $100k. That kicked off a mini meme: “Decimal team vs Rational rebels,” with some insisting Rational numbers (store as fractions!) are better for general apps. The vibe? Love for Firebird, side-eye for Java design choices, and jokes about a “number library that doesn’t do numbers.”
Key Points
- •Decimal-java converts between BigDecimal and IEEE-754-2008 decimal byte formats (decimal32/64/128).
- •Available via Maven (org.firebirdsql:decimal-java:2.0.1), MIT-licensed, and API-stable.
- •Version 2.0.0+ requires Java 17+ and is modularized; version 1.0.2 supports Java 7+ with automatic module name.
- •Encoding/decoding includes rounding and overflow handling; special values (infinity/NaN) raise specific exceptions.
- •Value conversion APIs support BigDecimal, BigInteger (including exact), String, double, and inter-decimal conversions.