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Home -> Community -> Mailing Lists -> Oracle-L -> Re: Using bits to store information in the database.
Wednesday, May 7, 2003, 10:22:06 AM, you wrote:
lp> Looking for advise on storing bits in the Oracle lp> database column.The scenario goes like this: define lp> column statusFlag NUMBER(x)statusFlag can represent the lp> following: verified set to 1nonverified set to lp> 10confirmed set to 100non confirmed set to 1000audited lp> set to 10000 I believe this gets my point accross.... So lp> here are my questions: What is the largest amount of bit lp> I can set for a NUMBER(x)?
When you go from 1 to 10 to 100 to 1000, you aren't working your way up in terms of bits, but rather in terms of decimal digits. NUMBER columns are stored in some sort of decimal format. I believe the largest possible NUMBER is NUMBER(31), but check the manuals to be sure. That would give you 31 positions: 1, 10, 100, 1000, etc.
What is the reason for going down this path? Have you considered alternatives? You might find it easier to us a CHAR(31) column, in which case you could use SUBSTR to address each, individual flag. For example:
SELECT *
FROM my_table
WHERE SUBSTR(x,23)='T';
I suppose you could even create function-based indexes to help such queries.
If you really want to work in terms of bits, then you need to think in terms of 1, 2, 4, 8, etc.
Best regards,
Jonathan Gennick --- Brighten the corner where you are http://Gennick.com * 906.387.1698 * mailto:jonathan@gennick.com
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How can one set and retrive the information in Oracle based on bits being set? Are there any draw backs from using too large of a lp> NUMBER? I can guess one.. wasted space. Thanks in advanced,-Lizz
lp> ---------------------------------
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Author: Jonathan Gennick
INET: jonathan_at_gennick.com
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