Hi Hassan, In a case like that where you know the data will always be a certain length, CHAR is definitely better. VARCHAR will actually waste space (1 byte) when the data is always a certain length.
And yes, if using the CHAR allows your table to have fixed-length rows, there will be a speed improvement. Of course, if you have other variable length columns in your table, MySQL will be stupid and change your CHAR to VARCHAR, thinking it's "helping" you. :-( Matt ----- Original Message ----- From: "Hassan Shaikh" Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2004 7:04 AM Subject: Which one is better: CHAR or VARCHAR? Hi, I've a column of type VARCHAR(10) where I know the data would be 10-char in length - always. Apart from the fact that VARCHAR saves space as compared to CHAR, is there any performance benefit? If yes, is it significant enough? Thanks. Hassan -- MySQL General Mailing List For list archives: http://lists.mysql.com/mysql To unsubscribe: http://lists.mysql.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]
