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 varchar versus nvarchar

Author  Topic 

sql777
Constraint Violating Yak Guru

314 Posts

Posted - 2004-04-05 : 14:09:27
varchar versus nvarchar, which to use and when? Performance considerations on them?

TIA

tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess

38200 Posts

Posted - 2004-04-05 : 14:12:14
You use NVARCHAR or NCHAR if you need to store unicode data. If you do not, you should use VARCHAR or CHAR. The unicode data types take up more space.

For more information about unicode data, see the topic in SQL Server Books Online titled "Using Unicode Data".

Tara
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derrickleggett
Pointy Haired Yak DBA

4184 Posts

Posted - 2004-04-05 : 14:19:47
To sum it up, you will basically need unicode if you do international business or have international data in your database. Otherwise, you can usually save a lot of space and stay non-unicode.

There are a few exceptions to this, but this is the general rule.

MeanOldDBA
derrickleggett@hotmail.com

When life gives you a lemon, fire the DBA.
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sql777
Constraint Violating Yak Guru

314 Posts

Posted - 2004-04-05 : 14:39:58
so for a content management system, I guess I should go nvarchar because of localization/international text/characters....hmm..
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derrickleggett
Pointy Haired Yak DBA

4184 Posts

Posted - 2004-04-05 : 15:10:51
Yes, and if you are going for an internationalized content management I would put a priority on reading the article that Tara referred you to.

You will also want to lookup currency and money conversion and data types in Books Online, MSDN, and sites like this one if it will have a financial piece to it. Not sure what type of data you will want to deal with.

MeanOldDBA
derrickleggett@hotmail.com

When life gives you a lemon, fire the DBA.
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