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naming-conventionsterminologypercentagefractions

Percentage stored as a fraction of 1: What is this called?

I have a column in a database table called CONDITION_PERCENT.

It has values like:

  • 1
  • 0.1
  • 0.01

Which are meant to represent:

  • 100%
  • 10%
  • 1%

I suspect that referring to these values as percentages might be incorrect. Calling them percentages certainly seems to be misleading my users (everyone expects the values to be fractions of 100, not fractions of 1).

What is the proper name for percentage values that are a fraction of 1?

Solution

  • From the examples you have given, the term you are looking for is "Decimal Fraction" i.e.

    "a fraction whose denominator is some power of 10, usually indicated by a dot (decimal point or point) written before the numerator: as 0.4 = 4/10; 0.126 = 126/1000."