Re: Does varchar2 size matter?

> What are the repercussions of declaring all strings varchar2(255) even
> if many will have lengths <=20 or <=30 (but none >255)?
>
> Is there any value declaring some to be varchar2(20) or varchar2(30)
> rather than just making them all varchar2(255)?
>
> I'm converting a MySQL database to Oracle. By default MySQL accepts
> strings too long and overwrites memory, which is okay as long as the
> memory is unusued, but becomes a problem when it overwrites used
> memory.
>
> Thanks,
> Ted Bogart

Thanks for the help. I was mainly worried about storage and performance. The data is mainly "generic" and used in unbounded Java Strings. Data integrity is already comprised since we're currently using MySQL which is silently ignoring size errors and either truncating or overwriting the data, with future consequences.

Per the advice given, I'll review the application for data integrity issues.

Thanks for your timely help. It's very much appreciated and will make my day so much better tomorrow!!!!

Thanks,
Ted Bogart Received on Thu Jun 02 2005 - 20:13:27 CDT