Hi all,

Which is better - VARCHAR(20) or CHAR(20) -- for indexing and speed

This is going to be a primary key.

Thanks
DBFinder

Depends on the average size of your varchar. There is a slight CPU overhead on processing a varchar, but it could use less memory and have more index rows per page (but don't forget about 2-byte overhead on varchar to store the length).

To be honest I prefer to use a fixed length char field over a verchar. They make copying data around much easier. As when you have a varchar you can't run a simple
insert into mytesttable select * from myprodtable where condtions apply
At least not on Z/OS, its been awhile since I worked on LUW so I'm not sure over there.

Dave

The insert works fine on LUW.

Andy

Thanks All

DBFinder