A floating point number is represented by a decimal number followed by an optional exponent, with no embedded spaces. A decimal number consists of a `+' (hexadecimal 2B) or `-' (hexadecimal 2D) sign, followed by a sequence of ASCII digits containing a single decimal point (`.'), representing an integer part and a fractional part of the floating point number. The leading `+' sign is optional. At least one of the integer part or fractional part must be present. If the fractional part is present, the decimal point must also be present. If only the integer part is present, the decimal point may be omitted. The exponent, if present, consists of an exponent letter followed by an integer. Letters in the exponential form (`E' or `D') shall be upper case. Note: The full precision of 64-bit values cannot be expressed over the whole range of values using the fixed format.
A free format floating point value follows the same rules as fixed format floating point values except that it may occur anywhere within columns 11-80.