FEAT: Add support for decimal value in scientific notation (#313)

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[AB#40022](https://sqlclientdrivers.visualstudio.com/c6d89619-62de-46a0-8b46-70b92a84d85e/_workitems/edit/40022)

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### Summary   
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This pull request improves the handling of decimal values, especially
those in scientific notation, when converting to SQL `VARCHAR` types.
The changes ensure that decimals are consistently formatted as
fixed-point strings rather than potentially problematic scientific
notation, preventing SQL Server conversion errors. Additionally, new
tests have been added to verify correct behavior for a variety of
decimal values.

**Decimal formatting and conversion improvements:**

* Updated `_map_sql_type` in `mssql_python/cursor.py` to use
`format(param, 'f')` instead of `str(param)` for `MONEY` and
`SMALLMONEY` types, ensuring decimals are always converted to
fixed-point strings.
[[1]](diffhunk://#diff-deceea46ae01082ce8400e14fa02f4b7585afb7b5ed9885338b66494f5f38280L402-R402)
[[2]](diffhunk://#diff-deceea46ae01082ce8400e14fa02f4b7585afb7b5ed9885338b66494f5f38280L412-R411)
* Modified `executemany` in `mssql_python/cursor.py` to format decimal
values as fixed-point strings before insertion when mapped to
`SQL_VARCHAR`.

**Test suite enhancements:**

* Added `test_decimal_scientific_notation_to_varchar` in
`tests/test_004_cursor.py` to verify that decimals (including those with
scientific notation) are correctly converted and stored as `VARCHAR`
without causing conversion errors.

**Test cleanup and simplification:**

* Removed exception handling logic in
`test_numeric_leading_zeros_precision_loss` and
`test_numeric_extreme_exponents_precision_loss` that previously skipped
tests on conversion errors, as these errors should no longer occur with
the improved formatting.
[[1]](diffhunk://#diff-82594712308ff34afa8b067af67db231e9a1372ef474da3db121e14e4d418f69L13944-L13957)
[[2]](diffhunk://#diff-82594712308ff34afa8b067af67db231e9a1372ef474da3db121e14e4d418f69L14005-L14030)
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Author: gargsaumya

mssql_python/cursor.py

@@ -395,8 +395,7 @@ def _map_sql_type(  # pylint: disable=too-many-arguments,too-many-positional-arg
 
             # Detect MONEY / SMALLMONEY range
             if SMALLMONEY_MIN <= param <= SMALLMONEY_MAX:
-                # smallmoney
-                parameters_list[i] = str(param)
+                parameters_list[i] = format(param, 'f')
                 return (
                     ddbc_sql_const.SQL_VARCHAR.value,
                     ddbc_sql_const.SQL_C_CHAR.value,
@@ -405,8 +404,7 @@ def _map_sql_type(  # pylint: disable=too-many-arguments,too-many-positional-arg
                     False,
                 )
             if MONEY_MIN <= param <= MONEY_MAX:
-                # money
-                parameters_list[i] = str(param)
+                parameters_list[i] = format(param, 'f')
                 return (
                     ddbc_sql_const.SQL_VARCHAR.value,
                     ddbc_sql_const.SQL_C_CHAR.value,
@@ -1916,13 +1914,12 @@ def executemany(  # pylint: disable=too-many-locals,too-many-branches,too-many-s
             for i, val in enumerate(processed_row):
                 if val is None:
                     continue
-                # Convert Decimals for money/smallmoney to string
                 if (
                     isinstance(val, decimal.Decimal)
                     and parameters_type[i].paramSQLType
                     == ddbc_sql_const.SQL_VARCHAR.value
                 ):
-                    processed_row[i] = str(val)
+                    processed_row[i] = format(val, 'f')
                 # Existing numeric conversion
                 elif parameters_type[i].paramSQLType in (
                     ddbc_sql_const.SQL_DECIMAL.value,

tests/test_004_cursor.py

@@ -13477,20 +13477,6 @@ def test_numeric_leading_zeros_precision_loss(
             actual == expected
         ), f"Leading zeros precision loss for {value}, expected {expected}, got {actual}"
 
-    except Exception as e:
-        # Handle cases where values get converted to scientific notation and cause SQL Server conversion errors
-        error_msg = str(e).lower()
-        if (
-            "converting" in error_msg
-            and "varchar" in error_msg
-            and "numeric" in error_msg
-        ):
-            pytest.skip(
-                f"Value {value} converted to scientific notation, causing expected SQL Server conversion error: {e}"
-            )
-        else:
-            raise  # Re-raise unexpected errors
-
     finally:
         try:
             cursor.execute(f"DROP TABLE {table_name}")
@@ -13538,32 +13524,13 @@ def test_numeric_extreme_exponents_precision_loss(
             "1E-18"
         ), f"Extreme exponent value not preserved for {description}: {value} -> {actual}"
 
-    except Exception as e:
-        # Handle expected SQL Server validation errors for scientific notation values
-        error_msg = str(e).lower()
-        if "scale" in error_msg and "range" in error_msg:
-            # This is expected - SQL Server rejects invalid scale/precision combinations
-            pytest.skip(
-                f"Expected SQL Server scale/precision validation for {description}: {e}"
-            )
-        elif any(
-            keyword in error_msg
-            for keyword in ["converting", "overflow", "precision", "varchar", "numeric"]
-        ):
-            # Other expected precision/conversion issues
-            pytest.skip(
-                f"Expected SQL Server precision limits or VARCHAR conversion for {description}: {e}"
-            )
-        else:
-            raise  # Re-raise if it's not a precision-related error
     finally:
         try:
             cursor.execute(f"DROP TABLE {table_name}")
             db_connection.commit()
         except:
             pass  # Table might not exist if creation failed
 
-
 # ---------------------------------------------------------
 # Test 12: 38-digit precision boundary limits
 # ---------------------------------------------------------
@@ -13659,6 +13626,72 @@ def test_numeric_beyond_38_digit_precision_negative(
     ), f"Expected SQL Server precision limit message for {description}, got: {error_msg}"
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "values, description",
+    [
+        # Small decimal values with scientific notation
+        (
+            [
+                decimal.Decimal('0.70000000000696'),
+                decimal.Decimal('1E-7'),
+                decimal.Decimal('0.00001'),
+                decimal.Decimal('6.96E-12'),
+            ],
+            "Small decimals with scientific notation"
+        ),
+        # Large decimal values with scientific notation
+        (
+            [
+                decimal.Decimal('4E+8'),
+                decimal.Decimal('1.521E+15'),
+                decimal.Decimal('5.748E+18'),
+                decimal.Decimal('1E+11')
+            ],
+            "Large decimals with positive exponents"
+        ),
+        # Medium-sized decimals
+        (
+            [
+                decimal.Decimal('123.456'),
+                decimal.Decimal('9999.9999'),
+                decimal.Decimal('1000000.50')
+            ],
+            "Medium-sized decimals"
+        ),
+    ],
+)
+def test_decimal_scientific_notation_to_varchar(cursor, db_connection, values, description):
+    """
+    Test that Decimal values with scientific notation are properly converted
+    to VARCHAR without triggering 'varchar to numeric' conversion errors.
+    This verifies that the driver correctly handles Decimal to VARCHAR conversion
+    """
+    table_name = "#pytest_decimal_varchar_conversion"
+    try:
+        cursor.execute(f"CREATE TABLE {table_name} (id INT IDENTITY(1,1), val VARCHAR(50))")
+        
+        for val in values:
+            cursor.execute(f"INSERT INTO {table_name} (val) VALUES (?)", (val,))
+        db_connection.commit()
+        
+        cursor.execute(f"SELECT val FROM {table_name} ORDER BY id")
+        rows = cursor.fetchall()
+        
+        assert len(rows) == len(values), f"Expected {len(values)} rows, got {len(rows)}"
+        
+        for i, (row, expected_val) in enumerate(zip(rows, values)):
+            stored_val = decimal.Decimal(row[0])
+            assert stored_val == expected_val, (
+                f"{description}: Row {i} mismatch - expected {expected_val}, got {stored_val}"
+            )
+        
+    finally:
+        try:
+            cursor.execute(f"DROP TABLE {table_name}")
+            db_connection.commit()
+        except:
+            pass
+
 SMALL_XML = "<root><item>1</item></root>"
 LARGE_XML = "<root>" + "".join(f"<item>{i}</item>" for i in range(10000)) + "</root>"
 EMPTY_XML = ""
@@ -14400,4 +14433,4 @@ def test_close(db_connection):
     except Exception as e:
         pytest.fail(f"Cursor close test failed: {e}")
     finally:
-        cursor = db_connection.cursor()
+        cursor = db_connection.cursor()