Just remember that NOTE columns can only hold up to 4000 characters. The room taken by other columns in the table may limit how much you can actually store.
Dennis McGrath Software Developer QMI Security Solutions 1661 Glenlake Ave Itasca IL 60143 630-980-8461 [email protected] ________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of William Stacy Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 10:54 AM To: RBASE-L Mailing List Subject: [RBASE-L] - Re: note fields Hi, and I to am sorry I missed the conf. I was planning to make heavy use of varchar in my migration, but your comments make me wonder if I should steer more toward note. I doubt if comments will ever be over 4000 char. and I would like to be able to search on all columns, but that too is not a show stopper. Any other reasons for one over the other (you didn't mention the overhead for varchar). On Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 8:16 AM, A. Razzak Memon <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: At 10:51 AM 10/12/2011, Dan Goldberg wrote: I am looking for your opinion on data types. Are note data type columns the best to use for long text fields? I have used them in the past but now there are other data types that might be better to use. Dan, A few suggestions: 01. If you know the range of your text (1 - 1500), and there is no plan to expand, use TEXT (value) data type. 02. If going beyond 1,500 and not exceeding 4,092 characters, use NOTE fields. 03. If going beyond 4,092 characters and having the flexibility of variable characters and formatted text data, use VARCHAR data type. Notes and Tips: TEXT Data Type: - Holds alphanumeric data - The default length is eight characters; the maximum is 1,500 characters - Unlike NOTE columns, you set the maximum length of a TEXT column - R:BASE reserves a minimum of four bytes of internal storage space - Indexes and constraints are allowed on TEXT data types NOTE Data Type: - Holds variable length text of up to 4,092 characters - NOTE data type columns cannot be used in an expression - The actual length of each NOTE entry is determined by the data contained in the column; you do not set a length - R:BASE reserves a minimum of four bytes of internal storage space - The NOTE data type now supports a size (n). The NOTE data type will truncate at (n) characters and give a warning - Indexes and constraints are allowed on NOTE data types - No length is needed VARCHAR Data Type: - Holds alphanumeric data - No length is needed Also, refer to R:BASE in-line Help for String Manipulation Functions and restrictions, if any. Hope that helps! Very Best R:egards, Razzak. -- William Stacy, O.D. Please visit my website by clicking on : http://www.folsomeye.net
