VARCHAR2

  let me begin by saying that i'm a relative novice, if anyone can point me to the FAQ for this group (if one exists) i'd be very grateful.

  I have a question concerning the VARCHAR2 datatype. i have a reference book that tells me that there is no penalty for declaring a large maximum value for a VARCHAR2 and storing a relatively small string in it. it says that the largest length of a VARCHAR2 is 2000 characters. my question is this: why not simply declare all string columns as VARCHAR2( 2000 ) ??

  is this in fact the popular way to do things? if not, why? is there a speed hit incurred in searches involving VARCHAR2's as compared with fixed width CHAR's? why do fixed with CHAR's exist if there is no penalty for using VARCHAR2's? Received on Fri Jul 26 1996 - 00:00:00 CEST