SQL Data Types
SQL Data Types are very important in relational databases. It
ensures that data is stored efficiently and accurately. Data types
define the type of value a column can hold, such as numbers, text,
or dates. Understanding SQL Data Types is critical for database
administrators, developers, and data analysts to design robust
databases and optimize performance.
Why SQL Data Types Matter
SQL data types are essential for designing relational databases,
as they determine how data is stored, managed, and interacted
with. Choosing the right data type ensures:
Data Integrity: Prevents invalid data from being entered into
the database (e.g., storing text in a numeric column).
Efficient Storage: Reduces storage costs by allocating only
the necessary space for data.
Query Performance: Improves query performance by
enabling faster indexing and search operations.
Application Compatibility: Ensures smooth interaction
between the database and applications by enforcing
consistency in data handling.
For example, using DECIMAL instead of FLOAT for financial
calculations ensures precision and avoids rounding errors, making
it critical in industries like finance and e-commerce.
What are SQL Data Types?
SQL data types define the kind of data a column can store,
dictating how the database manages and interacts with the data.
Each data type in SQL specifies a set of allowed values, as well
as the operations that can be performed on the values.
SQL data types are broadly categorized into several groups:
Numeric Data Types
Character and String Data Types
Date and Time Data Types
Binary Data Types
Boolean Data Types
Special Data Types
1. Numeric Data Types
Numeric data types are fundamental to database design and are
used to store numbers, whether they are integers, decimals, or
floating-point numbers. These data types allow for mathematical
operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division,
which makes them essential for managing financial, scientific, and
analytical data.
Exact Numeric Datatype
Exact numeric types are used when precise numeric values are
needed, such as for financial data, quantities, and counts. Some
common exact numeric types include:
Data Type Description Range
Large integer -9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to
BIGINT
numbers 9,223,372,036,854,775,807
Data Type Description Range
Standard integer -2,147,483,648 to
INT
values 2,147,483,647
SMALLINT Small integers -32,768 to 32,767
Very small
TINYINT 0 to 255
integers
Exact fixed-point
DECIMAL numbers (e.g., for -10^38 + 1 to 10^38 - 1
financial values)
Similar to
NUMERIC DECIMAL, used -10^38 + 1 to 10^38 - 1
for precision data
For storing -922,337,203,685,477.5808 to
MONEY
monetary values 922,337,203,685,477.5807
Smaller monetary -214,748.3648 to
SMALLMONEY
values 214,748.3647
Approximate Numeric Datatype
These types are used to store approximate values, such as
scientific measurements or large ranges of data that don't need
exact precision.
Data
Type Description Range
-1.79E+308 to
FLOAT Approximate numeric values
1.79E+308
Similar to FLOAT, but with less -3.40E+38 to
REAL
precision 3.40E+38
2. Character and String Data Types
Character data types are used to store text or character-based
data. The choice between fixed-length and variable-length data
types depends on the nature of your data.
Character String Data Types
Data Type Description
The maximum length of 8000 characters.(Fixed-
Char
Length non-Unicode Characters)
The maximum length of 8000 characters.(Variable-
Varchar
Length non-Unicode Characters)
The maximum length of 2^31 - 1 characters
Varchar(max) (SQL Server 2005 only).(Variable Length non-Unicode
data)
The maximum length of 2,127,483,647
Text
characters(Variable Length non-Unicode data)
Unicode Character String Data Types
Unicode data types are used to store characters from any
language, supporting a wider variety of characters. These are
given in below table.
Data Type Description
The maximum length of 4000 characters(Fixed-
Nchar
Length Unicode Characters)
The maximum length of 4000 characters.
Nvarchar
(Variable-Length Unicode Characters)
The maximum length of 2^31 - 1 characters(SQL
Nvarchar(max)
Server 2005 only).(Variable Length Unicode data)
3. Date and Time Data Type
SQL provides several data types for storing date and time
information. They are essential for managing timestamps, events,
and time-based queries. These are given in the below table.
Storage
Data Type Description Size
DATE stores the data of date (year, month, day) 3 Bytes
stores the data of time (hour,
TIME 3 Bytes
minute,second)
DATETIME store both the data and time (year, month, 8 Bytes
Storage
Data Type Description Size
day, hour, minute, second)
4. Binary Data Types in SQL
Binary data types are used to store binary data such as images,
videos, or other file types. These include:
Data Type Description Max Length
Binary Fixed-length binary data. 8000 bytes
VarBinary Variable-length binary data. 8000 bytes
Image Stores binary data as images. 2,147,483,647 bytes
5. Boolean Data Type in SQL
The BOOLEAN data types are used to store logical values,
typically TRUE or FALSE. It's commonly used for flag fields or
binary conditions.
Data Type Description
BOOLEAN Stores a logical value (TRUE/FALSE).
6. Special Data Types
SQL also supports some specialized data types for advanced use
cases: XML Data Type
The XML data type allows for the storage of XML documents and
fragments in a SQL Server database.
DataType Description
XML Used to store XML data and manipulate XML
Datatype structures in the database
Spatial Data Type
A datatype is used for storing planar spatial data, such as points,
lines, and polygons, in a database table.
DataType Description
stores planar spatial data, such as points, lines, and
Geometry
polygons, in a database table.
