From: Christopher Browne <cbbrowne@acm.org>
Subject: Re: what is maximum size of "text" datatype in postgres?
Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 05:31:30 -0400
Organization: cbbrowne Computing Inc
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To: pgsql-sql@postgresql.org

Centuries ago, Nostradamus foresaw when smitamarda@yahoo.co.uk ("Smit") would write:
> i wanted to know, what is maximum size of "text"
> datatype in postgres.
> It is given as "unlimited characters" in the postgres
> documentation. 
> But it doesn't store characters more than 5000. The
> connection get lost if i tried to store more than 5000
> characters.
>
> I had read somewhere on forum that its max limit is 8
> bytes, and we can increase it to 32 bytes.

8 bytes is certainly not the right answer.

Creating a little table, and throwing some wide strings at it...

tutorial=# create table widetext (main text);
CREATE
tutorial=# insert into widetext values ('0123456789... repeated a
bunch of times...');
INSERT 2625519 1
... increasing size each time, for several instances ...

tutorial=# select length(main) from widetext;
 length 
--------
   1100
   5500
  11000
(3 rows)

That's way more than 8 bytes; that's way more than 5000 bytes.

> Do any one know how to increse it? or do anyone know any other way
> to solve this problem.

What tool are you using to insert the data?

Is it possible that it has some buffer size limitation that is biting
you?
-- 
"cbbrowne","@","ntlug.org"
http://linuxfinances.info/info/
"My experience  as a member  of the  APB (Accounting Principles Board)
taught   me many lessons.    A major one was  that  most  of us have a
natural tendency and an incredible talent  for processing new facts in
such a way that our prior conclusions remain intact."
-- Charles Horngren