Column space utilization

Hello

I created a table with column name "description" as varchar(8000). My doubt is if I am not storing 8000 characters in this column, will SQL Server use memory space needed for 8000 characters ? or will it use only the space that needs for my text. ?

Thanking You
NavaneethIt will only use the space for your text.|||Thank you marcel,

I am planning to implement search functionality for my website. So choosing which datatype for search keywords will be optimum for me ? I need to store large number of data in this filed. I planned for text type. Is it a good choice ? Will text type utilize more space than any other datatype ? How much big my SQL database can grow ?|||You might was to look into using Full Text Search. Search in Book On Line for this topic.

Thanks,|||

Hello!

Moving forward you should NOT USE TEXT data types. TEXT has been obsoleted. VARCHAR(MAX) is the replacement.

Charles Hyman

Senior Consultant

MCTS SQL Server 2005

MCTS Biztalk Server

MCTS Vista Config

MCITP Database Administration

MCITP Database Developer

TALLAN Inc.

www.tallan.com

|||Thank you,

But upto my knowledge I think varchar can store only 8000 characters ? In new versions is it increased ?|||varchar(max) can store as much information as text. (so upto 2GB)

Thanks,