What Is the Maximum Size of a Char Data Type in DB2?

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Heather Bennett

What Is the Maximum Size of a Char Data Type in DB2?

When working with DB2 databases, it’s important to understand the maximum size limitations of different data types. In this tutorial, we will specifically focus on the maximum size of the char data type in DB2.

The Char Data Type

The char data type is used to store fixed-length character strings in DB2. The length of a char column is specified when creating a table and remains constant for all rows within that table.

Defining a Char Column

To define a char column in DB2, you need to specify the desired length within parentheses after the char keyword. For example:

CREATE TABLE my_table (
    id INT,
    name CHAR(20)
);

In this example, the name column is defined as a char data type with a length of 20 characters.

The Maximum Size Limitation

In DB2, the maximum size limitation for a char data type is determined by the database page size. The page size represents the unit of data that can be read from or written to disk at one time.

  • If your DB2 database has a page size of 4 KB, then the maximum length of a char column can be up to 32,672 characters.
  • If your DB2 database has a page size of 8 KB, then the maximum length of a char column can be up to 65,344 characters.

It’s important to note that the maximum size limitation includes any trailing spaces. Therefore, if you define a char column with a length of 20 characters and store a string with only 10 characters, the remaining 10 characters will be filled with spaces.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we explored the maximum size limitation of the char data type in DB2. We learned that the maximum length of a char column is determined by the database page size, with allowances for trailing spaces. It’s crucial to consider these limitations when designing your database schema and storing data in DB2.

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I hope you found this tutorial informative and helpful! If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask.

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