Large character objects: TEXT

The TEXT data type stores a block of text. It is designed to store self-contained documents: business forms, program source or data files, or memos. Although you can store any data in a TEXT item, HCL® OneDB® tools expect a TEXT item to be printable, so restrict this data type to printable ASCII text.

TEXT values are not stored with the rows of which they are a part. They are allocated in whole disk pages, usually in areas separate from rows. For more information, see your HCL OneDB Administrator's Guide.

The advantage of the TEXT data type over CHAR(n) and VARCHAR(m,r) is that the size of a TEXT data item has no limit except the capacity of disk storage to hold it. The disadvantages of the TEXT data type are as follows:
  • It is allocated in whole disk pages, so a short item wastes space.
  • Restrictions apply on how you can use a TEXT column in an SQL statement. (For more information about this restriction, see Use TEXT and BYTE data types.)