X-Original-To: pgsql-sql-postgresql.org@localhost.postgresql.org Received: from localhost (mx2.hub.org [200.46.204.254]) by postgresql.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 84B4911F607F for ; Thu, 20 Apr 2006 12:44:45 -0300 (ADT) X-Virus-Scanned: by amavisd-new at hub.org X-Spam-Score: -2.369 X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.369 required=5 tests=[AWL=0.232, BAYES_00=-2.599, SPF_HELO_PASS=-0.001, SPF_PASS=-0.001] Received: from postgresql.org ([200.46.204.71]) by localhost (mx2.hub.org [200.46.204.254]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with ESMTP id XbFgrWCOMNLe for ; Thu, 20 Apr 2006 12:44:28 -0300 (ADT) X-Greylist: from auto-whitelisted by SQLgrey- Received: from sss.pgh.pa.us (sss.pgh.pa.us [66.207.139.130]) by postgresql.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2AC0111F6031 for ; Thu, 20 Apr 2006 12:44:27 -0300 (ADT) Received: from sss2.sss.pgh.pa.us (tgl@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by sss.pgh.pa.us (8.13.6/8.13.6) with ESMTP id k3KFiPKX019021; Thu, 20 Apr 2006 11:44:25 -0400 (EDT) To: Markus Schaber cc: Frank Bax , pgsql-sql@postgresql.org Subject: Re: Field length ?? In-reply-to: <4447AA89.9060405@logix-tt.com> References: <20060420060838.46274.qmail@web33403.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <20060420060838.46274.qmail@web33403.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <5.2.1.1.0.20060420111921.00a5b920@pop6.sympatico.ca> <4447AA89.9060405@logix-tt.com> Comments: In-reply-to Markus Schaber message dated "Thu, 20 Apr 2006 17:36:41 +0200" Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 11:44:25 -0400 Message-ID: <19020.1145547865@sss.pgh.pa.us> From: Tom Lane X-Archive-Number: 200604/142 X-Sequence-Number: 24951 Markus Schaber writes: > Frank Bax wrote: >> Except that the original fields were neither variable length datatypes, >> not type text. > char is a textual type (in opposite to numeric types), and they are > handled as variable length datatypes internally (even if given a limit). char(n) *is* a variable-length type, not merely "handled as such", because the limit N is measured in characters not bytes. To support variable-length encodings such as UTF8 we have to treat it as variable length. regards, tom lane