Hi,

I am using db2 ese 8.1.4a on win2k.

I have a table with 20+ columns out of which 'Remarks" column has a data type varchar(2000) definition residing in a long tablespace. Now, it seems the present value is not sufficient to hold enough comments data & therefore there is a need to increase it to varchar(7000).
My question is:
- Is this ok to increase the value to 7000 characters.
- Are there any issues if we increase the value? if so, what is the workaround?

Thanks.

Hi!

Generally, there is no problems with increasing VARCHAR field, the only thing you have to care if the new row's size (sum of all column's lenght) will fit into you tablespace's page.

Just use RUNSTATS after altering the column.

The only problem with 7k column size is that it cannot be passed to functions resided in SYSFUN schema.

Regards.

andrew348 - Thank you for your response. Question for you:

<<The only problem with 7k column size is that it cannot be passed to functions resided in SYSFUN schema.>>

- What impact does this have on overall system performance?

Thanks & Regards.

It the column is fully populated, then you will need to move the table to a tablespace with at least 8K page size. You will also need to create a buffer pool with a page size to match the tablespace size. This "could" reduce the total amount of space available for other objects that can fit in the buffer pools.

I will ensure a separate tablespace is created for row length > 4k and fit in all objects that fall under this category.

Thanks for your help.