Ok so the jury's still out. Would it affect reloads and autochks? My habit is to reload and autocheck every time I back up, which is always >1 per day.
On Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 10:48 AM, James Bentley <[email protected]>wrote: > Bill, > > Be sure to carefully understand the limitations for VARCHAR columns. > Especially understand that they are stored in the RB4/RX4 file as large > objects. Large objects (Character and Binary) > have special rules/syntax for loading/importing and unloading/exporting. > Not all functions operate on VARCHAR data (columns or variables). There are > limitations to assigning VARCHAR data to other data types such as TEXT or > NOTE. You can not assign VARCHAR to these data types. There are also ODBC > considerations for VARCHAR data types*.* > > Ji*m Bentley > * > **Wednesday, October 12, 2011 12:20 PM > > *Subject:* [RBASE-L] - Re: note fields > > Thanks for that, Larry. Based on this, I'm beginning to like varchar all > the more and can see my reasons not to use note are strengthening. > > On Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 10:01 AM, Lawrence Lustig > <[email protected]>wrote: > > This happens because: > > 1. Note fields are stored in the row with the rest of the data. > > 2. Each row has a maximum size it cannot exceed (4000 bytes in older > versions, a longer limit in newer versions, I think). > > 3. Because a note field is variable length, the total size of the row > increases when you add characters to a note field. > > 4. Because you can have more than one note field per row, it's entirely > possible that if you have several note fields in a single row and they each > contain a lot of data, the total amount of data you're trying to store in > the row will be longer than the largest allowed row length. > > One advantage of VARCHAR fields in R:Base is that they are not stored in > the row with the other data. Only a single pointer value into the RB4 file > is stored (presumably 4 bytes in 32 bit R:Base and 8 bytes in 64 bit > R:Base). Therefore the length of the VARCHAR field does not affect the > length of the R:Base row (aside from that tiny little pointer value). > -- > Larry > > ------------------------------ > *From:* William Stacy <[email protected]> > *To:* RBASE-L Mailing List <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Wednesday, October 12, 2011 12:37 PM > > *Subject:* [RBASE-L] - Re: note fields > > Maybe I need a cup of coffee. You said: 'The room taken by other columns > in the table may limit how much you can actually store.' > > So lets say you have a 3 column table , 1st table is int type, 2nd is 8 > char txt type, 3rd is note. How in the world does the room taken by cols 1 > and 2 affect how much can be stored in col 3? Or is note not actually a > column but some creature that consumes what is left over? > > ?? > > On Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 9:26 AM, Dennis McGrath <[email protected]>wrote: > > ** ** ** ** ** ** ** > The maximum width of a row of data is fixed.**** > ** ** > ** ** > 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 11:24 AM > > *To:* RBASE-L Mailing List > *Subject:* [RBASE-L] - Re: note fields > **** > ** ** > I don't understand the second sentence. How would the other columns affect > it? BTW I'm interested in the formatting available in varchar, although > much of that functionality may be unused because of report formatting (it > would be weird to have different formatting for varchar columns than for the > rest of the report, although I can envision some uses for it, such as > imported stuff). **** > On Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 9:00 AM, Dennis McGrath <[email protected]> > wrote:**** > 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]> > 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 > > **** > > > > -- > William Stacy, O.D. > > Please visit my website by clicking on : > > http://www.folsomeye.net > > > **** > > > > > -- > William Stacy, O.D. > > Please visit my website by clicking on : > > http://www.folsomeye.net > > > > > > > > > -- > William Stacy, O.D. > > Please visit my website by clicking on : > > http://www.folsomeye.net > > > > > > -- William Stacy, O.D. Please visit my website by clicking on : http://www.folsomeye.net
