From mperkowitz@twjconsulting.com Tue, 12 Feb 2002 08:48:46 -0800 From: "Marc Perkowitz" Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 08:48:46 -0800 Subject: Re: White space compression in Oracle Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Title: White space compression in Oracle Bjørn, Aren't those semantics all host language based?  I haven't been working on Pro-X languages for a while, but I seem to recall that there were language options (switches, directives) on how the comparisons were done.  Also, you could easily move the data from one data type to another if needed.  In fact, in the early days, I remember VARCHAR2 was also blank-padded on output by default and trimmed when storing into the database.  Are you referring to more recent ANSI standards?  I believe you can still turn off the ANSI semantics if you want.   Marc.
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From: Bjørn Engsig To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2002 3:18 AM Subject: Re: White space compression in Oracle Marc,There are subtle differences between CHAR and VARCHAR2 when it comes to comparison semantics as CHAR comparisons are blank padded, which VARCHAR2 are not.  Thanks, Bjørn.Marc Perkowitz wrote: Beth, Actually, varchar2 is char with the trailing spaces removed.  What's the difficulty with switching to varchar2?  Does RDB regenerate the white spaces when retrieving the data or something?   Generally, everyone uses varchar2 in Oracle.   Marc PerkowitzSenior ConsultantTWJ Consulting, LLC   847-256-8866 x15www.twjconsulting.com