On 2011-08-03, Raj Mathur (=?utf-8?b?4KSw4KS+4KSc?= =?utf-8?b?IOCkruCkvuCkpeClgeCksA==?=) <r...@linux-delhi.org> wrote: > Hi, > > Can you point me to any pages that explain the difference between using, > say CHAR(8) vs VARCHAR(8) as the primary key for a table? Is there any > impact on the database in terms of:
look in the data types chapter of the manual > - Speed of indexed retrieval > - Speed of join from a referencing table > - Storage (I presume VARHAR(8) would have a slight edge, in general) > - Any other issue Unless you need the padding, and/or the length constraints use text. ("usr/share/doc/postgresql-doc-8.4/html/datatype-character.html") . Tip: There is no performance difference among these three types, . apart from increased storage space when using the blank-padded type, . and a few extra CPU cycles to check the length when storing into a . length-constrained column. While character(n) has performance . advantages in some other database systems, there is no such advantage . in PostgreSQL; in fact character(n) is usually the slowest of the . three because of its additional storage costs. In most situations text . or character varying should be used instead. -- ⚂⚃ 100% natural -- Sent via pgsql-sql mailing list (pgsql-sql@postgresql.org) To make changes to your subscription: http://www.postgresql.org/mailpref/pgsql-sql