Data type size

To save space in the database, lay out internal structures as compactly as possible. The database server stores values in their internal representation, so any internal structure with padding between entries consumes unnecessary space.

The INTERNALLENGTH keyword of the CREATE OPAQUE TYPE statement supplies the final size of the internal structure. This keyword provides the following two ways to specify the size:
  • Specify the actual size, in bytes, of the internal structure to define a fixed-length opaque data type.
  • Specify the VARIABLE keyword to define a varying-length opaque data type.