What is difference between VARCHAR and VARCHAR2 datatype in Oracle?
VARCHAR is reserved by Oracle to support distinction between NULL and empty string in future, as ANSI standard prescribes. VARCHAR2 does not distinguish between a NULL and empty string, and never will. If you rely on empty string and NULL being the same thing, you should use VARCHAR2 .
Why do we use VARCHAR2 instead of VARCHAR?
Varchar can store upto 2000 bytes and varchar2 can store upto 4000 bytes. Varchar will occupy space for NULL values and Varchar2 will not occupy any space.
Is VARCHAR2 supported in Oracle?
Introduction to Oracle VARCHAR2 data type To store variable-length character strings, you use the Oracle VARCHAR2 data type. A VARCHAR2 column can store a value that ranges from 1 to 4000 bytes. It means that for a single-byte character set, you can store up to 4000 characters in a VARCHAR2 column.
What is the difference between VARCHAR2 and NVARCHAR2 in Oracle?
VARCHAR2 vs. NVARCHAR2. First, the maximum size of VARCHAR2 can be in either bytes or characters, whereas the maximum size of NVARCHAR2 is only in characters. In addition, the maximum byte length of an NVARCHAR2 depends on the configured national character set.
What is the main difference between the Oracle SQL data types VARCHAR2 and CHAR?
The difference between a CHAR and a VARCHAR is that a CHAR(n) will ALWAYS be N bytes long, it will be blank padded upon insert to ensure this. A varchar2(n) on the other hand will be 1 to N bytes long, it will NOT be blank padded. Using a CHAR on a varying width field can be a pain due to the search semantics of CHAR.
How does VARCHAR2 work in Oracle?
The VARCHAR2 datatype stores variable-length character strings. When you create a table with a VARCHAR2 column, you specify a maximum column length (in bytes, not characters) between 1 and 2000 for the VARCHAR2 column.
What is VARCHAR2 datatype in Oracle?
What is VARCHAR2 data type in SQL?
The VARCHAR2 data type specifies a variable-length character string in the database character set. You specify the database character set when you create your database. When you create a table with a VARCHAR2 column, you must specify the column length as size optionally followed by a length qualifier.