SQL - Data Types

SQL provides various data types that allow you to define the type of data that can be stored in a database table's columns. Each data type has its own characteristics and range of values. Here are some commonly used SQL data types:

Numeric Data Types:

• INT: Used to store whole numbers within a specified range.
• DECIMAL(p, s): Used for decimal numbers with a specified precision (p) and scale (s).
• FLOAT: Used for floating-point numbers with a wide range of values.

Character Data Types:

• CHAR(n): Fixed-length character strings with a specified maximum length (n).
• VARCHAR(n): Variable-length character strings with a maximum length (n).
• TEXT: Used for storing large amounts of text data.

Date and Time Data Types:

• DATE: Used to store dates in the format 'YYYY-MM-DD'.
• TIME: Used to store time values in the format 'HH:MM:SS'.
• TIMESTAMP: Used to store both date and time values.

Boolean Data Type:

• BOOLEAN: Used to store true or false values.
• Binary Data Types:
• BLOB: Used for storing binary data like images, audio, or video files.
• BINARY(n): Fixed-length binary strings with a specified maximum length (n).

Other Data Types:

• ENUM: Used for defining a list of predefined values that a column can take.
• JSON: Used for storing JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) data.
• XML: Used for storing XML (eXtensible Markup Language) data.

It's important to choose the appropriate data type for each column based on the nature of the data it will store. Using the correct data type ensures data integrity, storage efficiency, and optimized query performance. Additionally, different database management systems may offer additional data types or variations of the mentioned data types.