Long Integers and Oracle Numbers

I'm used to working with systems where you worry about the speed of execution. If you have a field you know will only ever hold values 0-255, you call it a Byte. 0-~2bn is a Long Integer.

So along came Oracle 8, and I had to design a data model. All the documentation says that for any integer, you should use Number(38). According to the same documentation, this is allows for the storage of up to 38 digits, with decimal point anywhere. Now, I know that this will probably work, but it doesn't sound like a terribly optimal way of going about storing a 32-bit Long Integer.

Does anyone know anything about how Oracle handles Number fields internally? Is there anything to be gained by using, say Number(10) over Number(38), and ignoring the documentation?

Thanks in advance!

Darren Reynolds,
Halifax plc, England

-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==---------- http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own Received on Thu Mar 18 1999 - 10:20:53 CST