Re: Should key be number, varchar2[8] or varchar2[32]???

"Randall J. Parr" wrote:

> I have a code column, CountryCd, which is a component of the primary
> key of several different tables.
>
> I'm trying to compate the overhead, performance, etc. of using a
> number(6,0), a varchar2[8], or a varchar2[32] for this column.
>
> I have a handle on the raw table size difference. I'm more concerned
> with how the differences effect query performance, index
> size,/performance, etc.
>

Perhaps I should clarify.

Is it true that an index component which is a varchar2[32] will be treated, in the index, as a fixed length character string of length 32?

Is this true if the varchar2 is the only index component OR the last component?

If this is true, how will this effect the performance of the index?

Does using a relatively large primary key of varchar2[32] or with one or more varchar2[32] components primarily mean I need more disk space, etc. OR does it seriously impact my performance in some way.

Thanks

R.Parr
Temporal Arts Received on Mon Mar 29 1999 - 08:31:37 CST