Friday, November 23, 2012

SQL Server Data Types and Ranges


SQL Server Data Types and Ranges



Quick reference for SQL Server data types
Applies to: SQL Server 2000, SQL Server 2005, SQL Server 2008
Saving disk space is not the only benefit of properly selected data types for SQL Server columns. In addition to disk space benefits, the right data types reduce backup times, improve SQL Server performance, and enhance the execution of queries and joins. Here’s a comprehensive list of all SQL Server datatypes , ranges, and limitations:

Exact numerics

Type From To
bigint -9,223,372,036,854,775,808 9,223,372,036,854,775,807
int -2,147,483,648 2,147,483,647
smallint -32,768 32,767
tinyint 0 255
bit 0 1
decimal -10^38 +1 10^38 –1
numeric -10^38 +1 10^38 –1
money -922,337,203,685,477.5808 +922,337,203,685,477.5807
smallmoney -214,748.3648 +214,748.3647
numeric and decimal are Fixed precision and scale data types and are functionally equivalent.

Approximate numerics

Type From To
float -1.79E + 308 1.79E + 308
real -3.40E + 38 3.40E + 38

datetime and smalldatetime

Type From To
datetime (3.33 milliseconds accuracy) Jan 1, 1753 Dec 31, 9999
smalldatetime (1 minute accuracy) Jan 1, 1900 Jun 6, 2079
date (1 day accuracy. Introduced in SQL Server 2008) Jan 1, 0001 Dec 31, 9999
datetimeoffset (100 nanoseconds accuracy. Introduced in SQL Server 2008) Jan 1, 0001 Dec 31, 9999
datetime2 (100 nanoseconds accuracy. Introduced in SQL Server 2008) Jan 1, 0001 Dec 31, 9999
time (100 nanoseconds accuracy. Introduced in SQL Server 2008) 00:00:00.0000000 23:59:59.9999999

Character Strings

Type Description
char Fixed-length non-Unicode character data with a maximum length of 8,000 characters.
varchar Variable-length non-Unicode data with a maximum of 8,000 characters.
varchar(max) Variable-length non-Unicode data with a maximum length of 231 characters (Introduced in SQL Server 2005).
text Variable-length non-Unicode data with a maximum length of 2,147,483,647 characters.

Unicode Character Strings

Type Description
nchar Fixed-length Unicode data with a maximum length of 4,000 characters.
nvarchar Variable-length Unicode data with a maximum length of 4,000 characters.
nvarchar(max) Variable-length Unicode data with a maximum length of 230 characters (Introduced in SQL Server 2005).
ntext Variable-length Unicode data with a maximum length of 1,073,741,823 characters.

Binary Strings

Type Description
binary Fixed-length binary data with a maximum length of 8,000 bytes.
varbinary Variable-length binary data with a maximum length of 8,000 bytes.
varbinary(max) Variable-length binary data with a maximum length of 231 bytes (Introduced in SQL Server 2005).
image Variable-length binary data with a maximum length of 2,147,483,647 bytes.

Other Data Types

  • sql_variant: Stores values of various SQL Server-supported data types, except text, ntext, and timestamp.
  • timestamp: Stores a database-wide unique number that gets updated every time a row gets updated.
  • uniqueidentifier: Stores a globally unique identifier (GUID).
  • xml: Stores XML data. You can store xml instances in a column or a variable (Introduced in SQL Server 2005).
  • cursor: A reference to a cursor.
  • table: Stores a result set for later processing.
  • hierarchyid: A variable length, system data type used to represent position in a hierarchy (Introduced in SQL Server 2008).

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