July 2013 archive

Jul 31

12c VARCHAR2(32767)

I’ve always wondered why the VARCHAR2 datatype was limited to so few characters. For most attributes, you do not need more than 2,000 bytes. I remember when Oracle upped the limit from 2,000 bytes to 4,000. But SQL Server 2008R2 lets you use 8,000. We are talking about character data and the 2,000 or 4,000 …

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Jul 31

12c Autopopulating Column with Sequence Value

In yesterday’s blog post, I wrote about creating a table with an IDENTITY value.  But the Oracle 12c new feature that I like better is allowing a sequence to be the number generator for the default value of a column. To see what I mean, look at this example: SQL> create sequence test_seq; Sequence created. …

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Jul 30

12c IDENTITY columns

I live and work close to a Microsoft facility. As such, many of our current employees are former Microsoft employees that come from a SQL Server background. SQL Server lets you create a table with an IDENTITY column. Oracle 12c now lets you do the same. This should help those who are making the transition …

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