Chapter 11. Data Types
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## Chapter 11. Data Types

MySQL supports a number of data types in several categories: numeric types, date and time types, and string (character) types. This chapter first gives an overview of these data types, and then provides a more detailed description of the properties of the types in each category, and a summary of the data type storage requirements. The initial overview is intentionally brief. The more detailed descriptions later in the chapter should be consulted for additional information about particular data types, such as the allowable formats in which you can specify values.

MySQL also supports extensions for handing spatial data. Chapter 16, Spatial Extensions, provides information about these data types.

Several of the data type descriptions use these conventions:

- ``M`` indicates the maximum display width for integer types. For floating-point and fixed-point types, `M` is the total number of digits. For string types, `M` is the maximum length. The maximum allowable value of `M` depends on the data type.

- ``D`` applies to floating-point and fixed-point types and indicates the number of digits following the decimal point. The maximum possible value is 30, but should be no greater than `M`–2.

- Square brackets (‘`[`’ and ‘`]`’) indicate optional parts of type definitions.

## 11.1. Data Type Overview

### 11.1.1. Overview of Numeric Types

A summary of the numeric data types follows. For additional information, see Section 11.2, “Numeric Types”. Storage requirements are given in Section 11.5, “Data Type Storage Requirements”.

`M` indicates the maximum display width. The maximum legal display width is 255. Display width is unrelated to the storage size or range of values a type can contain, as described in Section 11.2, “Numeric Types”.

If you specify `ZEROFILL` for a numeric column, MySQL automatically adds the `UNSIGNED` attribute to the column.

`SERIAL` is an alias for `BIGINT UNSIGNED NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT UNIQUE`.

`SERIAL DEFAULT VALUE` in the definition of an integer column is an alias for `NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT UNIQUE`.

Warning: When you use subtraction between integer values where one is of type `UNSIGNED`, the result is unsigned unless the `NO_UNSIGNED_SUBTRACTION` SQL mode is enabled. See Section 12.8, “Cast Functions and Operators”.

- `BIT[(`M`)]`

  A bit-field type. `M` indicates the number of bits per value, from 1 to 64. The default is 1 if `M` is omitted.

  This data type was added in MySQL 5.0.3 for `MyISAM`, and extended in 5.0.5 to `MEMORY`, `InnoDB`, and `BDB`. Before 5.0.3, `BIT` is a synonym for `TINYINT(1)`.

- `TINYINT[(`M`)] [UNSIGNED] [ZEROFILL]`

  A very small integer. The signed range is `-128` to `127`. The unsigned range is `0` to `255`.

- `BOOL`, `BOOLEAN`

  These types are synonyms for `TINYINT(1)`. A value of zero is considered false. Non-zero values are considered true.

  In the future, full boolean type handling will be introduced in accordance with standard SQL.

- `SMALLINT[(`M`)] [UNSIGNED] [ZEROFILL]`

  A small integer. The signed range is `-32768` to `32767`. The unsigned range is `0` to `65535`.

- `MEDIUMINT[(`M`)] [UNSIGNED] [ZEROFILL]`

  A medium-sized integer. The signed range is `-8388608` to `8388607`. The unsigned range is `0` to `16777215`.

- `INT[(`M`)] [UNSIGNED] [ZEROFILL]`

  A normal-size integer. The signed range is `-2147483648` to `2147483647`. The unsigned range is `0` to `4294967295`.

- `INTEGER[(`M`)] [UNSIGNED] [ZEROFILL]`

  This type is a synonym for `INT`.

- `BIGINT[(`M`)] [UNSIGNED] [ZEROFILL]`

  A large integer. The signed range is `-9223372036854775808` to `9223372036854775807`. The unsigned range is `0` to `18446744073709551615`.

  Some things you should be aware of with respect to `BIGINT` columns:

  - All arithmetic is done using signed `BIGINT` or `DOUBLE` values, so you should not use unsigned big integers larger than `9223372036854775807` (63 bits) except with bit functions! If you do that, some of the last digits in the result may be wrong because of rounding errors when converting a `BIGINT` value to a `DOUBLE`.

    MySQL can handle `BIGINT` in the following cases:

    - When using integers to store large unsigned values in a `BIGINT` column.

    - In `MIN(`col_name`)` or `MAX(`col_name`)`, where `col_name` refers to a `BIGINT` column.

    - When using operators (`+`, `-`, `*`, and so on) where both operands are integers.

  - You can always store an exact integer value in a `BIGINT` column by storing it using a string. In this case, MySQL performs a string-to-number conversion that involves no intermediate double-precision representation.

  - The `-`, `+`, and `*` operators use `BIGINT` arithmetic when both operands are integer values. This means that if you multiply two big integers (or results from functions that return integers), you may get unexpected results when the result is larger than `9223372036854775807`.

- `FLOAT[(`M`,`D`)] [UNSIGNED] [ZEROFILL]`

  A small (single-precision) floating-point number. Allowable values are `-3.402823466E+38` to `-1.175494351E-38`, `0`, and `1.175494351E-38` to `3.402823466E+38`. These are the theoretical limits, based on the IEEE standard. The actual range might be slightly smaller depending on your hardware or operating system.

  `M` is the total number of decimal digits and `D` is the number of digits following the decimal point. If `M` and `D` are omitted, values are stored to the limits allowed by the hardware. A single-precision floating-point number is accurate to approximately 7 decimal places.

  `UNSIGNED`, if specified, disallows negative values.

  Using `FLOAT` might give you some unexpected problems because all calculations in MySQL are done with double precision. See Section A.5.7, “Solving Problems with No Matching Rows”.

- `DOUBLE[(`M`,`D`)] [UNSIGNED] [ZEROFILL]`

  A normal-size (double-precision) floating-point number. Allowable values are `-1.7976931348623157E+308` to `-2.2250738585072014E-308`, `0`, and `2.2250738585072014E-308` to `1.7976931348623157E+308`. These are the theoretical limits, based on the IEEE standard. The actual range might be slightly smaller depending on your hardware or operating system.

  `M` is the total number of decimal digits and `D` is the number of digits following the decimal point. If `M` and `D` are omitted, values are stored to the limits allowed by the hardware. A double-precision floating-point number is accurate to approximately 15 decimal places.

  `UNSIGNED`, if specified, disallows negative values.

- `DOUBLE PRECISION[(`M`,`D`)] [UNSIGNED] [ZEROFILL]`, `REAL[(`M`,`D`)] [UNSIGNED] [ZEROFILL]`

  These types are synonyms for `DOUBLE`. Exception: If the `REAL_AS_FLOAT` SQL mode is enabled, `REAL` is a synonym for `FLOAT` rather than `DOUBLE`.

- `FLOAT(`p`) [UNSIGNED] [ZEROFILL]`

  A floating-point number. `p` represents the precision in bits, but MySQL uses this value only to determine whether to use `FLOAT` or `DOUBLE` for the resulting data type. If `p` is from 0 to 24, the data type becomes `FLOAT` with no `M` or `D` values. If `p` is from 25 to 53, the data type becomes `DOUBLE` with no `M` or `D` values. The range of the resulting column is the same as for the single-precision `FLOAT` or double-precision `DOUBLE` data types described earlier in this section.

  `FLOAT(`p`)` syntax is provided for ODBC compatibility.

- `DECIMAL[(`M`[,`D`])] [UNSIGNED] [ZEROFILL]`

  For MySQL 5.0.3 and above:

  A packed “exact” fixed-point number. `M` is the total number of decimal digits (the precision) and `D` is the number of digits after the decimal point (the scale). The decimal point and (for negative numbers) the ‘`-`’ sign are not counted in `M`. If `D` is 0, values have no decimal point or fractional part. The maximum number of digits (`M`) for `DECIMAL` is 65 (64 from 5.0.3 to 5.0.5). The maximum number of supported decimals (`D`) is 30. If `D` is omitted, the default is 0. If `M` is omitted, the default is 10.

  `UNSIGNED`, if specified, disallows negative values.

  All basic calculations (`+, -, *, /`) with `DECIMAL` columns are done with a precision of 65 digits.

  Before MySQL 5.0.3:

  An unpacked fixed-point number. Behaves like a `CHAR` column; “unpacked” means the number is stored as a string, using one character for each digit of the value. `M` is the total number of digits and `D` is the number of digits after the decimal point. The decimal point and (for negative numbers) the ‘`-`’ sign are not counted in `M`, although space for them is reserved. If `D` is 0, values have no decimal point or fractional part. The maximum range of `DECIMAL` values is the same as for `DOUBLE`, but the actual range for a given `DECIMAL` column may be constrained by the choice of `M` and `D`. If `D` is omitted, the default is 0. If `M` is omitted, the default is 10.

  `UNSIGNED`, if specified, disallows negative values.

  The behavior used by the server for `DECIMAL` columns in a table depends on the version of MySQL used to create the table. If your server is from MySQL 5.0.3 or higher, but you have `DECIMAL` columns in tables that were created before 5.0.3, the old behavior still applies to those columns. To convert the tables to the newer `DECIMAL` format, dump them with mysqldump and reload them.

- `DEC[(`M`[,`D`])] [UNSIGNED] [ZEROFILL]`, `NUMERIC[(`M`[,`D`])] [UNSIGNED] [ZEROFILL]`, `FIXED[(`M`[,`D`])] [UNSIGNED] [ZEROFILL]`

  These types are synonyms for `DECIMAL`. The `FIXED` synonym is available for compatibility with other database systems.

### 11.1.2. Overview of Date and Time Types

A summary of the temporal data types follows. For additional information, see Section 11.3, “Date and Time Types”. Storage requirements are given in Section 11.5, “Data Type Storage Requirements”.

For the `DATETIME` and `DATE` range descriptions, “supported” means that although earlier values might work, there is no guarantee.

The `SUM()` and `AVG()` aggregate functions do not work with temporal values. (They convert the values to numbers, which loses the part after the first non-numeric character.) To work around this problem, you can convert to numeric units, perform the aggregate operation, and convert back to a temporal value. Examples:

    SELECT SEC_TO_TIME(SUM(TIME_TO_SEC(time_col))) FROM tbl_name;
    SELECT FROM_DAYS(SUM(TO_DAYS(date_col))) FROM tbl_name;

- `DATE`

  A date. The supported range is `'1000-01-01'` to `'9999-12-31'`. MySQL displays `DATE` values in `'YYYY-MM-DD'` format, but allows you to assign values to `DATE` columns using either strings or numbers.

- `DATETIME`

  A date and time combination. The supported range is `'1000-01-01 00:00:00'` to `'9999-12-31 23:59:59'`. MySQL displays `DATETIME` values in `'YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS'` format, but allows you to assign values to `DATETIME` columns using either strings or numbers.

- `TIMESTAMP[(`M`)]`

  A timestamp. The range is `'1970-01-01 00:00:00'` to partway through the year `2037`.

  A `TIMESTAMP` column is useful for recording the date and time of an `INSERT` or `UPDATE` operation. By default, the first `TIMESTAMP` column in a table is automatically set to the date and time of the most recent operation if you do not assign it a value yourself. You can also set any `TIMESTAMP` column to the current date and time by assigning it a `NULL` value. Variations on automatic initialization and update properties are described in Section 11.3.1.1, “`TIMESTAMP` Properties as of MySQL 4.1”.

  A `TIMESTAMP` value is returned as a string in the format `'YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS'` with a display width fixed at 19 characters. To obtain the value as a number, you should add `+0` to the timestamp column.

  Note: The `TIMESTAMP` format that was used prior to MySQL 4.1 is not supported in MySQL 5.0; see MySQL 3.23, 4.0, 4.1 Reference Manual for information regarding the old format.

- `TIME`

  A time. The range is `'-838:59:59'` to `'838:59:59'`. MySQL displays `TIME` values in `'HH:MM:SS'` format, but allows you to assign values to `TIME` columns using either strings or numbers.

- `YEAR[(2|4)]`

  A year in two-digit or four-digit format. The default is four-digit format. In four-digit format, the allowable values are `1901` to `2155`, and `0000`. In two-digit format, the allowable values are `70` to `69`, representing years from 1970 to 2069. MySQL displays `YEAR` values in `YYYY` format, but allows you to assign values to `YEAR` columns using either strings or numbers.

### 11.1.3. Overview of String Types

A summary of the string data types follows. For additional information, see Section 11.4, “String Types”. Storage requirements are given in Section 11.5, “Data Type Storage Requirements”.

In some cases, MySQL may change a string column to a type different from that given in a `CREATE TABLE` or `ALTER TABLE` statement. See Section 13.1.5.1, “Silent Column Specification Changes”.

In MySQL 4.1 and up, string data types include some features that you may not have encountered in working with previous versions of MySQL (prior to 4.1):

- Column definitions for many string data types can include a `CHARACTER SET` attribute to specify the character set. (`CHARSET` is a synonym for `CHARACTER SET`.) The `COLLATE` attribute specifies a collation for the the character set. These attributes apply to `CHAR`, `VARCHAR`, the `TEXT` types, `ENUM`, and `SET`. For example:

      CREATE TABLE t
      (
          c1 VARCHAR(20) CHARACTER SET utf8,
          c2 TEXT CHARACTER SET latin1 COLLATE latin1_general_cs
      );

  This table definition creates a column named `c1` that has a character set of `utf8` with the default collation for that character set, and a column named `c2` that has a character set of `latin1` and a case-sensitive collation.

- MySQL 5.0 interprets length specifications in character column definitions in character units. (Previously, MySQL interpreted lengths in bytes.)

- For `CHAR`, `VARCHAR`, and the `TEXT` types, the `BINARY` attribute causes the column to be assigned the binary collation of the column character set. (Previously, `BINARY` caused a column to store binary strings.)

- Character column sorting and comparison are based on the character set assigned to the column. (Previously, sorting and comparison were based on the collation of the server character set.) For `CHAR` and `VARCHAR` columns, you can declare the column with a binary collation or the `BINARY` attribute to cause sorting and comparison to use the underlying character code values rather than a lexical ordering.

Chapter 10, Character Set Support, provides additional information about use of character sets in MySQL.

- `[NATIONAL] CHAR(`M`) [BINARY | ASCII | UNICODE]`

  A fixed-length string that is always right-padded with spaces to the specified length when stored. `M` represents the column length. The range of `M` is 0 to 255 characters.

  Note: Trailing spaces are removed when `CHAR` values are retrieved.

  Before MySQL 5.0.3, a `CHAR` column with a length specification greater than 255 is converted to the smallest `TEXT` type that can hold values of the given length. For example, `CHAR(500)` is converted to `TEXT`, and `CHAR(200000)` is converted to `MEDIUMTEXT`. This is a compatibility feature. However, this conversion causes the column to become a variable-length column, and also affects trailing-space removal.

  In MySQL 5.0.3 and later, if you attempt to set the length of a `CHAR` greater than 255, the `CREATE TABLE` or `ALTER TABLE` statement in which this is done fails with an error:

      mysql> CREATE TABLE c1 (col1 INT, col2 CHAR(500));
      ERROR 1074 (42000): Column length too big for column 'col' (max = 255);
      use BLOB or TEXT instead
      mysql> SHOW CREATE TABLE c1;
      ERROR 1146 (42S02): Table 'test.c1' doesn't exist

  `CHAR` is shorthand for `CHARACTER`. `NATIONAL CHAR` (or its equivalent short form, `NCHAR`) is the standard SQL way to define that a `CHAR` column should use some predefined character set. MySQL 4.1 and up `utf8` as this predefined character set. Section 10.3.6, “National Character Set”.

  The `BINARY` attribute is shorthand for specifying the binary collation of the column character set. In this case, sorting and comparison are based on numeric character values.

  The `ASCII` attribute is shorthand for `CHARACTER SET latin1`.

  The `UNICODE` attribute is shorthand for `CHARACTER SET ucs2`.

  The `CHAR BYTE` data type is an alias for the `BINARY` type. This is a compatibility feature.

  MySQL allows you to create a column of type `CHAR(0)`. This is useful primarily when you have to be compliant with old applications that depend on the existence of a column but that do not actually use its value. `CHAR(0)` is also quite nice when you need a column that can take only two values: A `CHAR(0)` column that is not defined as `NOT NULL` occupies only one bit and can take only the values `NULL` and `''` (the empty string).

- `CHAR`

  This type is a synonym for `CHAR(1)`.

- `[NATIONAL] VARCHAR(`M`) [BINARY]`

  A variable-length string. `M` represents the maximum column length. In MySQL 5.0, the range of `M` is 0 to 255 before MySQL 5.0.3, and 0 to 65,535 in MySQL 5.0.3 and later. (The actual maximum length of a `VARCHAR` in MySQL 5.0 is determined by the maximum row size and the character set you use. The maximum effective length starting with MySQL 5.0.3 is 65,532 bytes.)

  Note: Before 5.0.3, trailing spaces were removed when `VARCHAR` values were stored, which differs from the standard SQL specification.

  Prior to MySQL 5.0.3, a `VARCHAR` column with a length specification greater than 255 was converted to the smallest `TEXT` type that could hold values of the given length. For example, `VARCHAR(500)` was converted to `TEXT`, and `VARCHAR(200000)` was converted to `MEDIUMTEXT`. This was a compatibility feature. However, this conversion affected trailing-space removal.

  `VARCHAR` is shorthand for `CHARACTER VARYING`.

  The `BINARY` attribute is shorthand for specifying the binary collation of the column character set. In this case, sorting and comparison are based on numeric character values.

  `VARCHAR` values are stored using as many characters as are needed, plus one byte to record the length (two bytes for columns that are declared with a length longer than 255).

- `BINARY(`M`)`

  The `BINARY` type is similar to the `CHAR` type, but stores binary byte strings rather than non-binary character strings.

- `VARBINARY(`M`)`

  The `VARBINARY` type is similar to the `VARCHAR` type, but stores binary byte strings rather than non-binary character strings.

- `TINYBLOB`

  A `BLOB` column with a maximum length of 255 (28 – 1) bytes.

- `TINYTEXT`

  A `TEXT` column with a maximum length of 255 (28 – 1) characters.

- `BLOB[(`M`)]`

  A `BLOB` column with a maximum length of 65,535 (216 – 1) bytes.

  An optional length `M` can be given for this type. If this is done, MySQL creates the column as the smallest `BLOB` type large enough to hold values `M` bytes long.

- `TEXT[(`M`)]`

  A `TEXT` column with a maximum length of 65,535 (216 – 1) characters.

  An optional length `M` can be given for this type. If this is done, MySQL creates the column as the smallest `TEXT` type large enough to hold values `M` characters long.

- `MEDIUMBLOB`

  A `BLOB` column with a maximum length of 16,777,215 (224 – 1) bytes.

- `MEDIUMTEXT`

  A `TEXT` column with a maximum length of 16,777,215 (224 – 1) characters.

- `LONGBLOB`

  A `BLOB` column with a maximum length of 4,294,967,295 or 4GB (232 – 1) bytes. The maximum effective (permitted) length of `LONGBLOB` columns depends on the configured maximum packet size in the client/server protocol and available memory.

- `LONGTEXT`

  A `TEXT` column with a maximum length of 4,294,967,295 or 4GB (232 – 1) characters. The maximum effective (permitted) length of `LONGTEXT` columns depends on the configured maximum packet size in the client/server protocol and available memory.

- `ENUM('`value1`','`value2`',...)`

  An enumeration. A string object that can have only one value, chosen from the list of values `'`value1`'`, `'`value2`'`, `...`, `NULL` or the special `''` error value. An `ENUM` column can have a maximum of 65,535 distinct values. `ENUM` values are represented internally as integers.

- `SET('`value1`','`value2`',...)`

  A set. A string object that can have zero or more values, each of which must be chosen from the list of values `'`value1`'`, `'`value2`'`, `...` A `SET` column can have a maximum of 64 members. `SET` values are represented internally as integers.

### 11.1.4. Data Type Default Values

The `DEFAULT `value`` clause in a data type specification indicates a default value for a column. With one exception, the default value must be a constant; it cannot be a function or an expression. This means, for example, that you cannot set the default for a date column to be the value of a function such as `NOW()` or `CURRENT_DATE`. The exception is that you can specify `CURRENT_TIMESTAMP` as the default for a `TIMESTAMP` column. See Section 11.3.1.1, “`TIMESTAMP` Properties as of MySQL 4.1”.

Prior to MySQL 5.0.2, if a column definition includes no explicit `DEFAULT` value, MySQL determines the default value as follows:

If the column can take `NULL` as a value, the column is defined with an explicit `DEFAULT NULL` clause.

If the column cannot take `NULL` as the value, MySQL defines the column with an explicit `DEFAULT` clause, using the implicit default value for the column data type. Implicit defaults are defined as follows:

- For numeric types other than integer types declared with the `AUTO_INCREMENT` attribute, the default is `0`. For an `AUTO_INCREMENT` column, the default value is the next value in the sequence.

- For date and time types other than `TIMESTAMP`, the default is the appropriate “zero” value for the type. For the first `TIMESTAMP` column in a table, the default value is the current date and time. See Section 11.3, “Date and Time Types”.

- For string types other than `ENUM`, the default value is the empty string. For `ENUM`, the default is the first enumeration value.

`BLOB` and `TEXT` columns cannot be assigned a default value.

As of MySQL 5.0.2, if a column definition includes no explicit `DEFAULT` value, MySQL determines the default value as follows:

If the column can take `NULL` as a value, the column is defined with an explicit `DEFAULT NULL` clause. This is the same as before 5.0.2.

If the column cannot take `NULL` as the value, MySQL defines the column with no explicit `DEFAULT` clause. For data entry, if an `INSERT` or `REPLACE` statement includes no value for the column, MySQL handles the column according to the SQL mode in effect at the time:

- If strict SQL mode is not enabled, MySQL sets the column to the implicit default value for the column data type.

- If strict mode is enabled, an error occurs for transactional tables and the statement is rolled back. For non-transactional tables, an error occurs, but if this happens for the second or subsequent row of a multiple-row statement, the preceding rows will have been inserted.

Suppose that a table `t` is defined as follows:

    CREATE TABLE t (i INT NOT NULL);

In this case, `i` has no explicit default, so in strict mode each of the following statements produce an error and no row is inserted. When not using strict mode, only the third statement produces an error; the implicit default is inserted for the first two statements, but the third fails because `DEFAULT(i)` cannot produce a value:

    INSERT INTO t VALUES();
    INSERT INTO t VALUES(DEFAULT);
    INSERT INTO t VALUES(DEFAULT(i));

See Section 5.2.5, “The Server SQL Mode”.

For a given table, you can use the `SHOW CREATE TABLE` statement to see which columns have an explicit `DEFAULT` clause.

## 11.2. Numeric Types

MySQL supports all of the standard SQL numeric data types. These types include the exact numeric data types (`INTEGER`, `SMALLINT`, `DECIMAL`, and `NUMERIC`), as well as the approximate numeric data types (`FLOAT`, `REAL`, and `DOUBLE PRECISION`). The keyword `INT` is a synonym for `INTEGER`, and the keyword `DEC` is a synonym for `DECIMAL`. For numeric type storage requirements, see Section 11.5, “Data Type Storage Requirements”.

As of MySQL 5.0.3, a `BIT` data type is available for storing bit-field values. (Before 5.0.3, MySQL interprets `BIT` as `TINYINT(1)`.) In MySQL 5.0.3, `BIT` is supported only for `MyISAM`. MySQL 5.0.5 extends `BIT` support to `MEMORY`, `InnoDB`, and `BDB`.

As an extension to the SQL standard, MySQL also supports the integer types `TINYINT`, `MEDIUMINT`, and `BIGINT`. The following table shows the required storage and range for each of the integer types.

Type | Bytes | Minimum Value | Maximum Value
|  | (Signed/Unsigned) | (Signed/Unsigned)
`TINYINT` | 1 | `-128` | `127`
|  | `0` | `255`
`SMALLINT` | 2 | `-32768` | `32767`
|  | `0` | `65535`
`MEDIUMINT` | 3 | `-8388608` | `8388607`
|  | `0` | `16777215`
`INT` | 4 | `-2147483648` | `2147483647`
|  | `0` | `4294967295`
`BIGINT` | 8 | `-9223372036854775808` | `9223372036854775807`
|  | `0` | `18446744073709551615`

Another extension is supported by MySQL for optionally specifying the display width of an integer value in parentheses following the base keyword for the type (for example, `INT(4)`). This optional display width specification is used to left-pad the display of values having a width less than the width specified for the column.

The display width does not constrain the range of values that can be stored in the column, nor the number of digits that are displayed for values having a width exceeding that specified for the column.

When used in conjunction with the optional extension attribute `ZEROFILL`, the default padding of spaces is replaced with zeroes. For example, for a column declared as `INT(5) ZEROFILL`, a value of `4` is retrieved as `00004`. Note that if you store larger values than the display width in an integer column, you may experience problems when MySQL generates temporary tables for some complicated joins, because in these cases MySQL assumes that the data fits into the original column width.

All integer types can have an optional (non-standard) attribute `UNSIGNED`. Unsigned values can be used when you want to allow only non-negative numbers in a column and you need a larger upper numeric range for the column. For example, if an `INT` column is `UNSIGNED`, the size of the column's range is the same but its endpoints shift from `-2147483648` and `2147483647` up to `0` and `4294967295`.

Floating-point and fixed-point types also can be `UNSIGNED`. As with integer types, this attribute prevents negative values from being stored in the column. However, unlike the integer types, the upper range of column values remains the same.

If you specify `ZEROFILL` for a numeric column, MySQL automatically adds the `UNSIGNED` attribute to the column.

For floating-point data types, MySQL uses four bytes for single-precision values and eight bytes for double-precision values.

The `FLOAT` and `DOUBLE` data types are used to represent approximate numeric data values. For `FLOAT` the SQL standard allows an optional specification of the precision (but not the range of the exponent) in bits following the keyword `FLOAT` in parentheses. MySQL also supports this optional precision specification, but the precision value is used only to determine storage size. A precision from 0 to 23 results in a four-byte single-precision `FLOAT` column. A precision from 24 to 53 results in an eight-byte double-precision `DOUBLE` column.

MySQL allows a non-standard syntax: `FLOAT(`M`,`D`)` or `REAL(`M`,`D`)` or `DOUBLE PRECISION(`M`,`D`)`. Here, “`(`M`,`D`)`” means than values are displayed with up to `M` digits in total, of which `D` digits may be after the decimal point. For example, a column defined as `FLOAT(7,4)` will look like `-999.9999` when displayed. MySQL performs rounding when storing values, so if you insert `999.00009` into a `FLOAT(7,4)` column, the approximate result is `999.0001`.

MySQL treats `DOUBLE` as a synonym for `DOUBLE PRECISION` (a non-standard extension). MySQL also treats `REAL` as a synonym for `DOUBLE PRECISION` (a non-standard variation), unless the `REAL_AS_FLOAT` SQL mode is enabled.

For maximum portability, code requiring storage of approximate numeric data values should use `FLOAT` or `DOUBLE PRECISION` with no specification of precision or number of digits.

The `DECIMAL` and `NUMERIC` data types are used to store exact numeric data values. In MySQL, `NUMERIC` is implemented as `DECIMAL`. These types are used to store values for which it is important to preserve exact precision, for example with monetary data.

As of MySQL 5.0.3, `DECIMAL` and `NUMERIC` values are stored in binary format. Previously, they were stored as strings, with one character used for each digit of the value, the decimal point (if the scale is greater than 0), and the ‘`-`’ sign (for negative numbers). See Chapter 21, Precision Math.

When declaring a `DECIMAL` or `NUMERIC` column, the precision and scale can be (and usually is) specified; for example:

    salary DECIMAL(5,2)

In this example, `5` is the precision and `2` is the scale. The precision represents the number of significant digits that are stored for values, and the scale represents the number of digits that can be stored following the decimal point. If the scale is 0, `DECIMAL` and `NUMERIC` values contain no decimal point or fractional part.

Standard SQL requires that the `salary` column be able to store any value with five digits and two decimals. In this case, therefore, the range of values that can be stored in the `salary` column is from `-999.99` to `999.99`. MySQL enforces this limit as of MySQL 5.0.3. Before 5.0.3, on the positive end of the range, the column could actually store numbers up to `9999.99`. (For positive numbers, MySQL 5.0.2 and earlier used the byte reserved for the sign to extend the upper end of the range.)

In standard SQL, the syntax `DECIMAL(`M`)` is equivalent to `DECIMAL(`M`,0)`. Similarly, the syntax `DECIMAL` is equivalent to `DECIMAL(`M`,0)`, where the implementation is allowed to decide the value of `M`. MySQL supports both of these variant forms of the `DECIMAL` and `NUMERIC` syntax. The default value of `M` is 10.

The maximum number of digits for `DECIMAL` or `NUMERIC` is 65 (64 from MySQL 5.0.3 to 5.0.5). Before MySQL 5.0.3, the maximum range of `DECIMAL` and `NUMERIC` values is the same as for `DOUBLE`, but the actual range for a given `DECIMAL` or `NUMERIC` column can be constrained by the precision or scale for a given column. When such a column is assigned a value with more digits following the decimal point than are allowed by the specified scale, the value is converted to that scale. (The precise behavior is operating system-specific, but generally the effect is truncation to the allowable number of digits.)

As of MySQL 5.0.3, the `BIT` data type is used to store bit-field values. A type of `BIT(`M`)` allows for storage of `M`-bit values. `M` can range from 1 to 64.

To specify bit values, `b'`value`'` notation can be used. `value` is a binary value written using zeroes and ones. For example, `b'111'` and `b'100000000'` represent 7 and 128, respectively. See Section 9.1.5, “Bit-Field Values”.

If you assign a value to a `BIT(`M`)` column that is less than `M` bits long, the value is padded on the left with zeroes. For example, assigning a value of `b'101'` to a `BIT(6)` column is, in effect, the same as assigning `b'000101'`.

When asked to store a value in a numeric column that is outside the data type's allowable range, MySQL's behavior depends on the SQL mode in effect at the time. For example, if no restrictive modes are enabled, MySQL clips the value to the appropriate endpoint of the range and stores the resulting value instead. However, if the mode is set to `TRADITIONAL`, MySQL rejects a value that is out of range with an error, and the insert fails, in accordance with the SQL standard.

In non-strict mode, when an out-of-range value is assigned to an integer column, MySQL stores the value representing the corresponding endpoint of the column data type range. If you store 256 into a `TINYINT` or `TINYINT UNSIGNED` column, MySQL stores 127 or 255, respectively. When a floating-point or fixed-point column is assigned a value that exceeds the range implied by the specified (or default) precision and scale, MySQL stores the value representing the corresponding endpoint of that range.

Conversions that occur due to clipping when MySQL is not operating in strict mode are reported as warnings for `ALTER TABLE`, `LOAD DATA INFILE`, `UPDATE`, and multiple-row `INSERT` statements. When MySQL is operating in strict mode, these statements fail, and some or all of the values will not be inserted or changed, depending on whether the table is a transactional table and other factors. For details, see Section 5.2.5, “The Server SQL Mode”.

## 11.3. Date and Time Types

The date and time types for representing temporal values are `DATETIME`, `DATE`, `TIMESTAMP`, `TIME`, and `YEAR`. Each temporal type has a range of legal values, as well as a “zero” value that may be used when you specify an illegal value that MySQL cannot represent. The `TIMESTAMP` type has special automatic updating behavior, described later on. For temporary type storage requirements, see Section 11.5, “Data Type Storage Requirements”.

Starting from MySQL 5.0.2, MySQL gives warnings or errors if you try to insert an illegal date. By setting the SQL mode to the appropriate value, you can specify more exactly what kind of dates you want MySQL to support. (See Section 5.2.5, “The Server SQL Mode”.) You can get MySQL to accept certain dates, such as `'1999-11-31'`, by using the `ALLOW_INVALID_DATES` SQL mode. (Before 5.0.2, this mode was the default behavior for MySQL.) This is useful when you want to store a “possibly wrong” value which the user has specified (for example, in a web form) in the database for future processing. Under this mode, MySQL verifies only that the month is in the range from 0 to 12 and that the day is in the range from 0 to 31. These ranges are defined to include zero because MySQL allows you to store dates where the day or month and day are zero in a `DATE` or `DATETIME` column. This is extremely useful for applications that need to store a birthdate for which you do not know the exact date. In this case, you simply store the date as `'1999-00-00'` or `'1999-01-00'`. If you store dates such as these, you should not expect to get correct results for functions such as `DATE_SUB()` or `DATE_ADD` that require complete dates. (If you do not want to allow zero in dates, you can use the `NO_ZERO_IN_DATE` SQL mode).

MySQL also allows you to store `'0000-00-00'` as a “dummy date” (if you are not using the `NO_ZERO_DATE` SQL mode). This is in some cases is more convenient (and uses less space in data and index) than using `NULL` values.

Here are some general considerations to keep in mind when working with date and time types:

- MySQL retrieves values for a given date or time type in a standard output format, but it attempts to interpret a variety of formats for input values that you supply (for example, when you specify a value to be assigned to or compared to a date or time type). Only the formats described in the following sections are supported. It is expected that you supply legal values. Unpredictable results may occur if you use values in other formats.

- Dates containing two-digit year values are ambiguous because the century is unknown. MySQL interprets two-digit year values using the following rules:

  - Year values in the range `70-99` are converted to `1970-1999`.

  - Year values in the range `00-69` are converted to `2000-2069`.

- Although MySQL tries to interpret values in several formats, dates always must be given in year-month-day order (for example, `'98-09-04'`), rather than in the month-day-year or day-month-year orders commonly used elsewhere (for example, `'09-04-98'`, `'04-09-98'`).

- MySQL automatically converts a date or time type value to a number if the value is used in a numeric context and vice versa.

- By default, when MySQL encounters a value for a date or time type that is out of range or otherwise illegal for the type (as described at the beginning of this section), it converts the value to the “zero” value for that type. The exception is that out-of-range `TIME` values are clipped to the appropriate endpoint of the `TIME` range.

  The following table shows the format of the “zero” value for each type. Note that the use of these values produces warnings if the `NO_ZERO_DATE` SQL mode is enabled.

  Data Type | “Zero” Value
  `DATETIME` | `'0000-00-00 00:00:00'`
  `DATE` | `'0000-00-00'`
  `TIMESTAMP` | `'0000-00-00 00:00:00'`
  `TIME` | `'00:00:00'`
  `YEAR` | `0000`

- The “zero” values are special, but you can store or refer to them explicitly using the values shown in the table. You can also do this using the values `'0'` or `0`, which are easier to write.

- “Zero” date or time values used through MyODBC are converted automatically to `NULL` in MyODBC 2.50.12 and above, because ODBC cannot handle such values.

### 11.3.1. The `DATETIME`, `DATE`, and `TIMESTAMP` Types

The `DATETIME`, `DATE`, and `TIMESTAMP` types are related. This section describes their characteristics, how they are similar, and how they differ.

The `DATETIME` type is used when you need values that contain both date and time information. MySQL retrieves and displays `DATETIME` values in `'YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS'` format. The supported range is `'1000-01-01 00:00:00'` to `'9999-12-31 23:59:59'`.

The `DATE` type is used when you need only a date value, without a time part. MySQL retrieves and displays `DATE` values in `'YYYY-MM-DD'` format. The supported range is `'1000-01-01'` to `'9999-12-31'`.

For the `DATETIME` and `DATE` range descriptions, “supported” means that although earlier values might work, there is no guarantee.

The `TIMESTAMP` data type has varying properties, depending on the MySQL version and the SQL mode the server is running in. These properties are described later in this section.

You can specify `DATETIME`, `DATE`, and `TIMESTAMP` values using any of a common set of formats:

- As a string in either `'YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS'` or `'YY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS'` format. A “relaxed” syntax is allowed: Any punctuation character may be used as the delimiter between date parts or time parts. For example, `'98-12-31 11:30:45'`, `'98.12.31 11+30+45'`, `'98/12/31 11*30*45'`, and `'98@12@31 11^30^45'` are equivalent.

- As a string in either `'YYYY-MM-DD'` or `'YY-MM-DD'` format. A “relaxed” syntax is allowed here, too. For example, `'98-12-31'`, `'98.12.31'`, `'98/12/31'`, and `'98@12@31'` are equivalent.

- As a string with no delimiters in either `'YYYYMMDDHHMMSS'` or `'YYMMDDHHMMSS'` format, provided that the string makes sense as a date. For example, `'19970523091528'` and `'970523091528'` are interpreted as `'1997-05-23 09:15:28'`, but `'971122129015'` is illegal (it has a nonsensical minute part) and becomes `'0000-00-00 00:00:00'`.

- As a string with no delimiters in either `'YYYYMMDD'` or `'YYMMDD'` format, provided that the string makes sense as a date. For example, `'19970523'` and `'970523'` are interpreted as `'1997-05-23'`, but `'971332'` is illegal (it has nonsensical month and day parts) and becomes `'0000-00-00'`.

- As a number in either `YYYYMMDDHHMMSS` or `YYMMDDHHMMSS` format, provided that the number makes sense as a date. For example, `19830905132800` and `830905132800` are interpreted as `'1983-09-05 13:28:00'`.

- As a number in either `YYYYMMDD` or `YYMMDD` format, provided that the number makes sense as a date. For example, `19830905` and `830905` are interpreted as `'1983-09-05'`.

- As the result of a function that returns a value that is acceptable in a `DATETIME`, `DATE`, or `TIMESTAMP` context, such as `NOW()` or `CURRENT_DATE`.

Illegal `DATETIME`, `DATE`, or `TIMESTAMP` values are converted to the “zero” value of the appropriate type (`'0000-00-00 00:00:00'` or `'0000-00-00'`).

For values specified as strings that include date part delimiters, it is not necessary to specify two digits for month or day values that are less than `10`. `'1979-6-9'` is the same as `'1979-06-09'`. Similarly, for values specified as strings that include time part delimiters, it is not necessary to specify two digits for hour, minute, or second values that are less than `10`. `'1979-10-30 1:2:3'` is the same as `'1979-10-30 01:02:03'`.

Values specified as numbers should be 6, 8, 12, or 14 digits long. If a number is 8 or 14 digits long, it is assumed to be in `YYYYMMDD` or `YYYYMMDDHHMMSS` format and that the year is given by the first 4 digits. If the number is 6 or 12 digits long, it is assumed to be in `YYMMDD` or `YYMMDDHHMMSS` format and that the year is given by the first 2 digits. Numbers that are not one of these lengths are interpreted as though padded with leading zeroes to the closest length.

Values specified as non-delimited strings are interpreted using their length as given. If the string is 8 or 14 characters long, the year is assumed to be given by the first 4 characters. Otherwise, the year is assumed to be given by the first 2 characters. The string is interpreted from left to right to find year, month, day, hour, minute, and second values, for as many parts as are present in the string. This means you should not use strings that have fewer than 6 characters. For example, if you specify `'9903'`, thinking that represents March, 1999, MySQL inserts a “zero” date value into your table. This occurs because the year and month values are `99` and `03`, but the day part is completely missing, so the value is not a legal date. However, you can explicitly specify a value of zero to represent missing month or day parts. For example, you can use `'990300'` to insert the value `'1999-03-00'`.

You can to some extent assign values of one date type to an object of a different date type. However, there may be some alteration of the value or loss of information:

- If you assign a `DATE` value to a `DATETIME` or `TIMESTAMP` object, the time part of the resulting value is set to `'00:00:00'` because the `DATE` value contains no time information.

- If you assign a `DATETIME` or `TIMESTAMP` value to a `DATE` object, the time part of the resulting value is deleted because the `DATE` type stores no time information.

- Remember that although `DATETIME`, `DATE`, and `TIMESTAMP` values all can be specified using the same set of formats, the types do not all have the same range of values. For example, `TIMESTAMP` values cannot be earlier than `1970` or later than `2037`. This means that a date such as `'1968-01-01'`, while legal as a `DATETIME` or `DATE` value, is not valid as a `TIMESTAMP` value and is converted to `0`.

Be aware of certain pitfalls when specifying date values:

- The relaxed format allowed for values specified as strings can be deceiving. For example, a value such as `'10:11:12'` might look like a time value because of the ‘`:`’ delimiter, but if used in a date context is interpreted as the year `'2010-11-12'`. The value `'10:45:15'` is converted to `'0000-00-00'` because `'45'` is not a legal month.

- As of 5.0.2, the server requires that month and day values be legal, and not merely in the range 1 to 12 and 1 to 31, respectively. With strict mode disabled, invalid dates such as `'2004-04-31'` are converted to `'0000-00-00'` and a warning is generated. With strict mode enabled, invalid dates generate an error. To allow such dates, enable `ALLOW_INVALID_DATES`. See Section 5.2.5, “The Server SQL Mode”, for more information.

  Before MySQL 5.0.2, the MySQL server performs only basic checking on the validity of a date: The ranges for year, month, and day are 1000 to 9999, 00 to 12, and 00 to 31, respectively. Any date containing parts not within these ranges is subject to conversion to `'0000-00-00'`. Please note that this still allows you to store invalid dates such as `'2002-04-31'`. To ensure that a date is valid, you should perform a check in your application.

- Dates containing two-digit year values are ambiguous because the century is unknown. MySQL interprets two-digit year values using the following rules:

  - Year values in the range `00-69` are converted to `2000-2069`.

  - Year values in the range `70-99` are converted to `1970-1999`.

#### 11.3.1.1. `TIMESTAMP` Properties as of MySQL 4.1

Note: In older versions of MySQL (prior to 4.1), the properties of the `TIMESTAMP` data type differed significantly in many ways from what is described in this section. If you need to convert older `TIMESTAMP` data to work with MySQL 5.0, be sure to see the MySQL 3.23, 4.0, 4.1 Reference Manual for details.

`TIMESTAMP` columns are displayed in the same format as `DATETIME` columns. In other words, the display width is fixed at 19 characters, and the format is `YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS`.

The MySQL server can be also be run with the `MAXDB` SQL mode enabled. When the server runs with this mode enabled, `TIMESTAMP` is identical with `DATETIME`. That is, if this mode is enabled at the time that a table is created, `TIMESTAMP` columns are created as `DATETIME` columns. As a result, such columns use `DATETIME` display format, have the same range of values, and there is no automatic initialization or updating to the current date and time.

To enable `MAXDB` mode, set the server SQL mode to `MAXDB` at startup using the `--sql-mode=MAXDB` server option or by setting the global `sql_mode` variable at runtime:

    mysql> SET GLOBAL sql_mode=MAXDB;

A client can cause the server to run in `MAXDB` mode for its own connection as follows:

    mysql> SET SESSION sql_mode=MAXDB;

Note that the information in the following discussion applies to `TIMESTAMP` columns only for tables not created with `MAXDB` mode enabled, because such columns are created as `DATETIME` columns.

As of MySQL 5.0.2, MySQL does not accept timestamp values that include a zero in the day or month column or values that are not a valid date. The sole exception to this rule is the special value `'0000-00-00 00:00:00'`.

You have considerable flexibility in determining when automatic `TIMESTAMP` initialization and updating occur and which column should have those behaviors:

- For one `TIMESTAMP` column in a table, you can assign the current timestamp as the default value and the auto-update value. It is possible to have the current timestamp be the default value for initializing the column, for the auto-update value, or both. It is not possible to have the current timestamp be the default value for one column and the auto-update value for another column.

- You can specify which `TIMESTAMP` column to automatically initialize or update to the current date and time. This need not be the first `TIMESTAMP` column.

The following rules govern initialization and updating of `TIMESTAMP` columns:

- If a `DEFAULT` value is specified for the first `TIMESTAMP` column in a table, it is not ignored. The default can be `CURRENT_TIMESTAMP` or a constant date and time value.

- `DEFAULT NULL` is the same as `DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP` for the first `TIMESTAMP` column. For any other `TIMESTAMP` column, `DEFAULT NULL` is treated as `DEFAULT 0`.

- Any single `TIMESTAMP` column in a table can be used as the one that is initialized to the current timestamp or updated automatically.

- In a `CREATE TABLE` statement, the first `TIMESTAMP` column can be declared in any of the following ways:

  - With both `DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP` and `ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP` clauses, the column has the current timestamp for its default value, and is automatically updated.

  - With neither `DEFAULT` nor `ON UPDATE` clauses, it is the same as `DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP`.

  - With a `DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP` clause and no `ON UPDATE` clause, the column has the current timestamp for its default value but is not automatically updated.

  - With no `DEFAULT` clause and with an `ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP` clause, the column has a default of 0 and is automatically updated.

  - With a constant `DEFAULT` value, the column has the given default. If the column has an `ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP` clause, it is automatically updated, otherwise not.

  In other words, you can use the current timestamp for both the initial value and the auto-update value, or either one, or neither. (For example, you can specify `ON UPDATE` to enable auto-update without also having the column auto-initialized.)

- `CURRENT_TIMESTAMP` or any of its synonyms (`CURRENT_TIMESTAMP()`, `NOW()`, `LOCALTIME`, `LOCALTIME()`, `LOCALTIMESTAMP`, or `LOCALTIMESTAMP()`) can be used in the `DEFAULT` and `ON UPDATE` clauses. They all mean “the current timestamp.” (`UTC_TIMESTAMP` is not allowed. Its range of values does not align with those of the `TIMESTAMP` column anyway unless the current time zone is `UTC`.)

- The order of the `DEFAULT` and `ON UPDATE` attributes does not matter. If both `DEFAULT` and `ON UPDATE` are specified for a `TIMESTAMP` column, either can precede the other. For example, these statements are equivalent:

      CREATE TABLE t (ts TIMESTAMP);
      CREATE TABLE t (ts TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
                                   ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP);
      CREATE TABLE t (ts TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
                                   DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP);

- To specify automatic default or updating for a `TIMESTAMP` column other than the first one, you must suppress the automatic initialization and update behaviors for the first `TIMESTAMP` column by explicitly assigning it a constant `DEFAULT` value (for example, `DEFAULT 0` or `DEFAULT '2003-01-01 00:00:00'`). Then, for the other `TIMESTAMP` column, the rules are the same as for the first `TIMESTAMP` column, except that if you omit both of the `DEFAULT` and `ON UPDATE` clauses, no automatic initialization or updating occurs.

  Example. These statements are equivalent:

      CREATE TABLE t (
          ts1 TIMESTAMP DEFAULT 0,
          ts2 TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
                        ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP);
      CREATE TABLE t (
          ts1 TIMESTAMP DEFAULT 0,
          ts2 TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
                        DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP);

You can set the current time zone on a per-connection basis, as described in Section 5.11.8, “MySQL Server Time Zone Support”. `TIMESTAMP` values are stored in UTC, being converted from the current time zone for storage, and converted back to the current time zone upon retrieval. As long as the time zone setting remains constant, you get back the same value you store. If you store a `TIMESTAMP` value, and then change the time zone and retrieve the value, the retrieved value is different than the value you stored. This occurs because the same time zone was not used for conversion in both directions. The current time zone is available as the value of the `time_zone` system variable.

You can include the `NULL` attribute in the definition of a `TIMESTAMP` column to allow the column to contain `NULL` values. For example:

    CREATE TABLE t
    (
      ts1 TIMESTAMP NULL DEFAULT NULL,
      ts2 TIMESTAMP NULL DEFAULT 0,
      ts3 TIMESTAMP NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
    );

If the `NULL` attribute is not specified, setting the column to `NULL` sets it to the current timestamp. Note that a `TIMESTAMP` column which allows `NULL` values will not take on the current timestamp except under one of the following conditions:

- Its default value is defined as `CURRENT_TIMESTAMP`

- `NOW()` or `CURRENT_TIMESTAMP` is inserted into the column

In other words, a `TIMESTAMP` column defined as `NULL` will auto-initialize only if it is created using a definition such as the following:

    CREATE TABLE t (ts TIMESTAMP NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP);

Otherwise — that is, if the `TIMESTAMP` column is defined to allow `NULL` values but not using `DEFAULT TIMESTAMP`, as shown here…

    CREATE TABLE t1 (ts TIMESTAMP NULL DEFAULT NULL);
    CREATE TABLE t2 (ts TIMESTAMP NULL DEFAULT '0000-00-00 00:00:00');

…then you must explicitly insert a value corresponding to the current date and time. For example:

    INSERT INTO t1 VALUES (NOW());
    INSERT INTO t2 VALUES (CURRENT_TIMESTAMP);

### 11.3.2. The `TIME` Type

MySQL retrieves and displays `TIME` values in `'HH:MM:SS'` format (or `'HHH:MM:SS'` format for large hours values). `TIME` values may range from `'-838:59:59'` to `'838:59:59'`. The hours part may be so large because the `TIME` type can be used not only to represent a time of day (which must be less than 24 hours), but also elapsed time or a time interval between two events (which may be much greater than 24 hours, or even negative).

You can specify `TIME` values in a variety of formats:

- As a string in `'D HH:MM:SS.fraction'` format. You can also use one of the following “relaxed” syntaxes: `'HH:MM:SS.fraction'`, `'HH:MM:SS'`, `'HH:MM'`, `'D HH:MM:SS'`, `'D HH:MM'`, `'D HH'`, or `'SS'`. Here `D` represents days and can have a value from 0 to 34. Note that MySQL does not store the fraction part.

- As a string with no delimiters in `'HHMMSS'` format, provided that it makes sense as a time. For example, `'101112'` is understood as `'10:11:12'`, but `'109712'` is illegal (it has a nonsensical minute part) and becomes `'00:00:00'`.

- As a number in `HHMMSS` format, provided that it makes sense as a time. For example, `101112` is understood as `'10:11:12'`. The following alternative formats are also understood: `SS`, `MMSS`, `HHMMSS`, `HHMMSS.fraction`. Note that MySQL does not store the fraction part.

- As the result of a function that returns a value that is acceptable in a `TIME` context, such as `CURRENT_TIME`.

For `TIME` values specified as strings that include a time part delimiter, it is not necessary to specify two digits for hours, minutes, or seconds values that are less than `10`. `'8:3:2'` is the same as `'08:03:02'`.

Be careful about assigning abbreviated values to a `TIME` column. Without colons, MySQL interprets values using the assumption that the two rightmost digits represent seconds. (MySQL interprets `TIME` values as elapsed time rather than as time of day.) For example, you might think of `'1112'` and `1112` as meaning `'11:12:00'` (12 minutes after 11 o'clock), but MySQL interprets them as `'00:11:12'` (11 minutes, 12 seconds). Similarly, `'12'` and `12` are interpreted as `'00:00:12'`. `TIME` values with colons, by contrast, are always treated as time of the day. That is, `'11:12'` mean `'11:12:00'`, not `'00:11:12'`.

By default, values that lie outside the `TIME` range but are otherwise legal are clipped to the closest endpoint of the range. For example, `'-850:00:00'` and `'850:00:00'` are converted to `'-838:59:59'` and `'838:59:59'`. Illegal `TIME` values are converted to `'00:00:00'`. Note that because `'00:00:00'` is itself a legal `TIME` value, there is no way to tell, from a value of `'00:00:00'` stored in a table, whether the original value was specified as `'00:00:00'` or whether it was illegal.

For more restrictive treatment of invalid `TIME` values, enable strict SQL mode to cause errors to occur. See Section 5.2.5, “The Server SQL Mode”.

### 11.3.3. The `YEAR` Type

The `YEAR` type is a one-byte type used for representing years.

MySQL retrieves and displays `YEAR` values in `YYYY` format. The range is `1901` to `2155`.

You can specify `YEAR` values in a variety of formats:

- As a four-digit string in the range `'1901'` to `'2155'`.

- As a four-digit number in the range `1901` to `2155`.

- As a two-digit string in the range `'00'` to `'99'`. Values in the ranges `'00'` to `'69'` and `'70'` to `'99'` are converted to `YEAR` values in the ranges `2000` to `2069` and `1970` to `1999`.

- As a two-digit number in the range `1` to `99`. Values in the ranges `1` to `69` and `70` to `99` are converted to `YEAR` values in the ranges `2001` to `2069` and `1970` to `1999`. Note that the range for two-digit numbers is slightly different from the range for two-digit strings, because you cannot specify zero directly as a number and have it be interpreted as `2000`. You must specify it as a string `'0'` or `'00'` or it is interpreted as `0000`.

- As the result of a function that returns a value that is acceptable in a `YEAR` context, such as `NOW()`.

Illegal `YEAR` values are converted to `0000`.

### 11.3.4. Y2K Issues and Date Types

As discussed in Section 1.4.5, “Year 2000 Compliance”, MySQL itself is year 2000 (Y2K) safe. However, particular input values presented to MySQL may not be Y2K safe. Any value containing a two-digit year is ambiguous, because the century is unknown. Such values must be interpreted into four-digit form because MySQL stores years internally using four digits.

For `DATETIME`, `DATE`, `TIMESTAMP`, and `YEAR` types, MySQL interprets dates with ambiguous year values using the following rules:

- Year values in the range `00-69` are converted to `2000-2069`.

- Year values in the range `70-99` are converted to `1970-1999`.

Remember that these rules are only heuristics that provide reasonable guesses as to what your data values mean. If the rules used by MySQL do not produce the correct values, you should provide unambiguous input containing four-digit year values.

`ORDER BY` properly sorts `YEAR` values that have two-digit years.

Some functions like `MIN()` and `MAX()` convert a `YEAR` to a number. This means that a value with a two-digit year does not work properly with these functions. The fix in this case is to convert the `TIMESTAMP` or `YEAR` to four-digit year format.

## 11.4. String Types

The string types are `CHAR`, `VARCHAR`, `BINARY`, `VARBINARY`, `BLOB`, `TEXT`, `ENUM`, and `SET`. This section describes how these types work and how to use them in your queries. For string type storage requirements, see Section 11.5, “Data Type Storage Requirements”.

### 11.4.1. The `CHAR` and `VARCHAR` Types

The `CHAR` and `VARCHAR` types are similar, but differ in the way they are stored and retrieved. As of MySQL 5.0.3, they also differ in maximum length and in whether trailing spaces are retained.

The `CHAR` and `VARCHAR` types are declared with a length that indicates the maximum number of characters you want to store. For example, `CHAR(30)` can hold up to 30 characters.

The length of a `CHAR` column is fixed to the length that you declare when you create the table. The length can be any value from 0 to 255. When `CHAR` values are stored, they are right-padded with spaces to the specified length. When `CHAR` values are retrieved, trailing spaces are removed.

Values in `VARCHAR` columns are variable-length strings. The length can be specified as a value from 0 to 255 before MySQL 5.0.3, and 0 to 65,535 in 5.0.3 and later versions. (The maximum effective length of a `VARCHAR` in MySQL 5.0.3 and later is determined by the maximum row size and the character set used. The maximum length overall is 65,532 bytes.)

In contrast to `CHAR`, `VARCHAR` values are stored using only as many characters as are needed, plus one byte to record the length (two bytes for columns that are declared with a length longer than 255).

`VARCHAR` values are not padded when they are stored. Handling of trailing spaces is version-dependent. As of MySQL 5.0.3, trailing spaces are retained when values are stored and retrieved, in conformance with standard SQL. Before MySQL 5.0.3, trailing spaces are removed from values when they are stored into a `VARCHAR` column; this means that the spaces also are absent from retrieved values.

If you assign a value to a `CHAR` or `VARCHAR` column that exceeds the column's maximum length, the value is truncated to fit. If the truncated characters are not spaces, a warning is generated. For truncation of non-space characters, you can cause an error to occur (rather than a warning) and suppress insertion of the value by using strict SQL mode. See Section 5.2.5, “The Server SQL Mode”.

Before MySQL 5.0.3, if you need a data type for which trailing spaces are not removed, consider using a `BLOB` or `TEXT` type. Also, if you want to store binary values such as results from an encryption or compression function that might contain arbitrary byte values, use a `BLOB` column rather than a `CHAR` or `VARCHAR` column, to avoid potential problems with trailing space removal that would change data values.

The following table illustrates the differences between `CHAR` and `VARCHAR` by showing the result of storing various string values into `CHAR(4)` and `VARCHAR(4)` columns:

Value | `CHAR(4)` | Storage Required | `VARCHAR(4)` | Storage Required
`''` | `' '` | 4 bytes | `''` | 1 byte
`'ab'` | `'ab '` | 4 bytes | `'ab'` | 3 bytes
`'abcd'` | `'abcd'` | 4 bytes | `'abcd'` | 5 bytes
`'abcdefgh'` | `'abcd'` | 4 bytes | `'abcd'` | 5 bytes

Note that the values shown as stored in the last row of the table apply only when not using strict mode; if MySQL is running in strict mode, values that exceed the column length are not stored, and an error results.

If a given value is stored into the `CHAR(4)` and `VARCHAR(4)` columns, the values retrieved from the columns are not always the same because trailing spaces are removed from `CHAR` columns upon retrieval. The following example illustrates this difference:

    mysql> CREATE TABLE vc (v VARCHAR(4), c CHAR(4));
    Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.01 sec)

    mysql> INSERT INTO vc VALUES ('ab  ', 'ab  ');
    Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)

    mysql> SELECT CONCAT('(', v, ')'), CONCAT('(', c, ')') FROM vc;
    +---------------------+---------------------+
    | CONCAT('(', v, ')') | CONCAT('(', c, ')') |
    +---------------------+---------------------+
    | (ab  )              | (ab)                |
    +---------------------+---------------------+
    1 row in set (0.06 sec)

Values in `CHAR` and `VARCHAR` columns are sorted and compared according to the character set collation assigned to the column.

Note that all MySQL collations are of type `PADSPACE`. This means that all `CHAR` and `VARCHAR` values in MySQL are compared without regard to any trailing spaces. For example:

    mysql> CREATE TABLE names (myname CHAR(10), yourname VARCHAR(10));
    Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.09 sec)

    mysql> INSERT INTO names VALUES ('Monty ', 'Monty ');
    Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)

    mysql> SELECT myname = 'Monty  ', yourname = 'Monty  ' FROM names;
    +--------------------+----------------------+
    | myname = 'Monty  ' | yourname = 'Monty  ' |
    +--------------------+----------------------+
    |                  1 |                    1 |
    +--------------------+----------------------+
    1 row in set (0.00 sec)

Note that this is true for all MySQL versions, and it makes no difference whether your version trims trailing spaces from `VARCHAR` values before storing them. Nor does the server SQL mode make any difference in this regard.

For those cases where trailing pad characters are stripped or comparisons ignore them, if a column has an index that requires unique values, inserting into the column values that differ only in number of trailing pad characters will result in a duplicate-key error. For example, if a table contains `'a'`, an attempt to store `'a '` causes a duplicate-key error.

### 11.4.2. The `BINARY` and `VARBINARY` Types

The `BINARY` and `VARBINARY` types are similar to `CHAR` and `VARCHAR`, except that they contain binary strings rather than non-binary strings. That is, they contain byte strings rather than character strings. This means that they have no character set, and sorting and comparison are based on the numeric values of the bytes in the values.

The allowable maximum length is the same for `BINARY` and `VARBINARY` as it is for `CHAR` and `VARCHAR`, except that the length for `BINARY` and `VARBINARY` is a length in bytes rather than in characters.

The `BINARY` and `VARBINARY` data types are distinct from the `CHAR BINARY` and `VARCHAR BINARY` data types. For the latter types, the `BINARY` attribute does not cause the column to be treated as a binary string column. Instead, it causes the binary collation for the column character set to be used, and the column itself contains non-binary character strings rather than binary byte strings. For example, `CHAR(5) BINARY` is treated as `CHAR(5) CHARACTER SET latin1 COLLATE latin1_bin`, assuming that the default character set is `latin1`. This differs from `BINARY(5)`, which stores 5-bytes binary strings that have no character set or collation.

When `BINARY` values are stored, they are right-padded with the pad value to the specified length. The pad value and how it is handled is version specific:

- As of MySQL 5.0.15, the pad value is `0x00` (the zero byte). Values are right-padded with `0x00` on insert, and no trailing bytes are removed on select. All bytes are significant in comparisons, including `ORDER BY` and `DISTINCT` operations. `0x00` bytes and spaces are different in comparisons, with `0x00` < space.

  Example: For a `BINARY(3)` column, `'a '` becomes `'a \0'` when inserted. `'a\0'` becomes `'a\0\0'` when inserted. Both inserted values remain unchanged when selected.

- Before MySQL 5.0.15, the pad value is space. Values are right-padded with space on insert, and trailing spaces are removed on select. Trailing spaces are ignored in comparisons, including `ORDER BY` and `DISTINCT` operations. `0x00` bytes and spaces are different in comparisons, with `0x00` < space.

  Example: For a `BINARY(3)` column, `'a '` becomes `'a '` when inserted and `'a'` when selected. `'a\0'` becomes `'a\0 '` when inserted and `'a\0'` when selected.

For `VARBINARY`, there is no padding on insert and no bytes are stripped on select. All bytes are significant in comparisons, including `ORDER BY` and `DISTINCT` operations. `0x00` bytes and spaces are different in comparisons, with `0x00` < space. (Exceptions: Before MySQL 5.0.3, trailing spaces are removed when values are stored. Before MySQL 5.0.15, trailing 0x00 bytes are removed for `ORDER BY` operations.)

Note: The `InnoDB` storage engine continues to preserve trailing spaces in `BINARY` and `VARBINARY` column values through MySQL 5.0.18. Beginning with MySQL 5.0.19, `InnoDB` uses trailing space characters in making comparisons as do other MySQL storage engines.

For those cases where trailing pad bytes are stripped or comparisons ignore them, if a column has an index that requires unique values, inserting into the column values that differ only in number of trailing pad bytes will result in a duplicate-key error. For example, if a table contains `'a'`, an attempt to store `'a\0'` causes a duplicate-key error.

You should consider the preceding padding and stripping characteristics carefully if you plan to use the `BINARY` data type for storing binary data and you require that the value retrieved be exactly the same as the value stored. The following example illustrates how `0x00`-padding of `BINARY` values affects column value comparisons:

    mysql> CREATE TABLE t (c BINARY(3));
    Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.01 sec)

    mysql> INSERT INTO t SET c = 'a';
    Query OK, 1 row affected (0.01 sec)

    mysql> SELECT HEX(c), c = 'a', c = 'a\0\0' from t;
    +--------+---------+-------------+
    | HEX(c) | c = 'a' | c = 'a\0\0' |
    +--------+---------+-------------+
    | 610000 |       0 |           1 |
    +--------+---------+-------------+
    1 row in set (0.09 sec)

If the value retrieved must be the same as the value specified for storage with no padding, it might be preferable to use `VARBINARY` or one of the `BLOB` data types instead.

### 11.4.3. The `BLOB` and `TEXT` Types

A `BLOB` is a binary large object that can hold a variable amount of data. The four `BLOB` types are `TINYBLOB`, `BLOB`, `MEDIUMBLOB`, and `LONGBLOB`. These differ only in the maximum length of the values they can hold. The four `TEXT` types are `TINYTEXT`, `TEXT`, `MEDIUMTEXT`, and `LONGTEXT`. These correspond to the four `BLOB` types and have the same maximum lengths and storage requirements. See Section 11.5, “Data Type Storage Requirements”. No lettercase conversion for `TEXT` or `BLOB` columns takes place during storage or retrieval.

`BLOB` columns are treated as binary strings (byte strings). `TEXT` columns are treated as non-binary strings (character strings). `BLOB` columns have no character set, and sorting and comparison are based on the numeric values of the bytes in column values. `TEXT` columns have a character set, and values are sorted and compared based on the collation of the character set.

If a `TEXT` column is indexed, index entry comparisons are space-padded at the end. This means that, if the index requires unique values, duplicate-key errors will occur for values that differ only in the number of trailing spaces. For example, if a table contains `'a'`, an attempt to store `'a '` causes a duplicate-key error. This is not true for `BLOB` columns.

When not running in strict mode, if you assign a value to a `BLOB` or `TEXT` column that exceeds the data type's maximum length, the value is truncated to fit. If the truncated characters are not spaces, a warning is generated. You can cause an error to occur and the value to be rejected rather than to be truncated with a warning by using strict SQL mode. See Section 5.2.5, “The Server SQL Mode”.

In most respects, you can regard a `BLOB` column as a `VARBINARY` column that can be as large as you like. Similarly, you can regard a `TEXT` column as a `VARCHAR` column. `BLOB` and `TEXT` differ from `VARBINARY` and `VARCHAR` in the following ways:

- There is no trailing-space removal for `BLOB` and `TEXT` columns when values are stored or retrieved. Before MySQL 5.0.3, this differs from `VARBINARY` and `VARCHAR`, for which trailing spaces are removed when values are stored.

  Note that `TEXT` is on comparison space extended to fit the compared object, exactly like `CHAR` and `VARCHAR`.

- For indexes on `BLOB` and `TEXT` columns, you must specify an index prefix length. For `CHAR` and `VARCHAR`, a prefix length is optional. See Section 7.4.3, “Column Indexes”.

- `BLOB` and `TEXT` columns cannot have `DEFAULT` values.

`LONG` and `LONG VARCHAR` map to the `MEDIUMTEXT` data type. This is a compatibility feature. If you use the `BINARY` attribute with a `TEXT` data type, the column is assigned the binary collation of the column character set.

MySQL Connector/ODBC defines `BLOB` values as `LONGVARBINARY` and `TEXT` values as `LONGVARCHAR`.

Because `BLOB` and `TEXT` values can be extremely long, you might encounter some constraints in using them:

- Only the first `max_sort_length` bytes of the column are used when sorting. The default value of `max_sort_length` is 1024. This value can be changed using the `--max_sort_length=`N`` option when starting the mysqld server. See Section 5.2.2, “Server System Variables”.

  You can make more bytes significant in sorting or grouping by increasing the value of `max_sort_length` at runtime. Any client can change the value of its session `max_sort_length` variable:

      mysql> SET max_sort_length = 2000;
      mysql> SELECT id, comment FROM t
          -> ORDER BY comment;

  Another way to use `GROUP BY` or `ORDER BY` on a `BLOB` or `TEXT` column containing long values when you want more than `max_sort_length` bytes to be significant is to convert the column value into a fixed-length object. The standard way to do this is with the `SUBSTRING()` function. For example, the following statement causes 2000 bytes of the `comment` column to be taken into account for sorting:

      mysql> SELECT id, SUBSTRING(comment,1,2000) FROM t
          -> ORDER BY SUBSTRING(comment,1,2000);

- The maximum size of a `BLOB` or `TEXT` object is determined by its type, but the largest value you actually can transmit between the client and server is determined by the amount of available memory and the size of the communications buffers. You can change the message buffer size by changing the value of the `max_allowed_packet` variable, but you must do so for both the server and your client program. For example, both mysql and mysqldump allow you to change the client-side `max_allowed_packet` value. See Section 7.5.2, “Tuning Server Parameters”, Section 8.6, “mysql — The MySQL Command-Line Tool”, and Section 8.11, “mysqldump — A Database Backup Program”.

Each `BLOB` or `TEXT` value is represented internally by a separately allocated object. This is in contrast to all other data types, for which storage is allocated once per column when the table is opened.

In some cases, it may be desirable to store binary data such as media files in `BLOB` or `TEXT` columns. You may find MySQL's string handling functions useful for working with such data. See Section 12.3, “String Functions”. For security and other reasons, it is usually preferable to do so using application code rather than allowing application users the `FILE` privilege. You can discuss specifics for various languages and platforms in the MySQL Forums (http://forums.mysql.com/).

### 11.4.4. The `ENUM` Type

An `ENUM` is a string object with a value chosen from a list of allowed values that are enumerated explicitly in the column specification at table creation time.

The value may also be the empty string (`''`) or `NULL` under certain circumstances:

- If you insert an invalid value into an `ENUM` (that is, a string not present in the list of allowed values), the empty string is inserted instead as a special error value. This string can be distinguished from a “normal” empty string by the fact that this string has the numerical value 0. More about this later.

  If strict SQL mode is enabled, attempts to insert invalid `ENUM` values result in an error.

- If an `ENUM` column is declared to allow `NULL`, the `NULL` value is a legal value for the column, and the default value is `NULL`. If an `ENUM` column is declared `NOT NULL`, its default value is the first element of the list of allowed values.

Each enumeration value has an index:

- Values from the list of allowable elements in the column specification are numbered beginning with 1.

- The index value of the empty string error value is 0. This means that you can use the following `SELECT` statement to find rows into which invalid `ENUM` values were assigned:

      mysql> SELECT * FROM tbl_name WHERE enum_col=0;

- The index of the `NULL` value is `NULL`.

- The term “index” here refers only to position within the list of enumeration values. It has nothing to do with table indexes.

For example, a column specified as `ENUM('one', 'two', 'three')` can have any of the values shown here. The index of each value is also shown:

Value | Index
`NULL` | `NULL`
`''` | 0
`'one'` | 1
`'two'` | 2
`'three'` | 3

An enumeration can have a maximum of 65,535 elements.

Trailing spaces are automatically deleted from `ENUM` member values in the table definition when a table is created.

When retrieved, values stored into an `ENUM` column are displayed using the lettercase that was used in the column definition. Note that `ENUM` columns can be assigned a character set and collation. For binary or case-sensitive collations, lettercase is taken into account when assigning values to the column.

If you retrieve an `ENUM` value in a numeric context, the column value's index is returned. For example, you can retrieve numeric values from an `ENUM` column like this:

    mysql> SELECT enum_col+0 FROM tbl_name;

If you store a number into an `ENUM` column, the number is treated as an index, and the value stored is the enumeration member with that index. (However, this does not work with `LOAD DATA`, which treats all input as strings.) It is not advisable to define an `ENUM` column with enumeration values that look like numbers, because this can easily become confusing. For example, the following column has enumeration members with string values of `'0'`, `'1'`, and `'2'`, but numeric index values of `1`, `2`, and `3`:

    numbers ENUM('0','1','2')

`ENUM` values are sorted according to the order in which the enumeration members were listed in the column specification. (In other words, `ENUM` values are sorted according to their index numbers.) For example, `'a'` sorts before `'b'` for `ENUM('a', 'b')`, but `'b'` sorts before `'a'` for `ENUM('b', 'a')`. The empty string sorts before non-empty strings, and `NULL` values sort before all other enumeration values. To prevent unexpected results, specify the `ENUM` list in alphabetical order. You can also use `GROUP BY CAST(col AS CHAR)` or `GROUP BY CONCAT(col)` to make sure that the column is sorted lexically rather than by index number.

If you want to determine all possible values for an `ENUM` column, use `SHOW COLUMNS FROM `tbl_name` LIKE `enum_col`` and parse the `ENUM` definition in the `Type` column of the output.

### 11.4.5. The `SET` Type

A `SET` is a string object that can have zero or more values, each of which must be chosen from a list of allowed values specified when the table is created. `SET` column values that consist of multiple set members are specified with members separated by commas (‘`,`’). A consequence of this is that `SET` member values should not themselves contain commas.

For example, a column specified as `SET('one', 'two') NOT NULL` can have any of these values:

    ''
    'one'
    'two'
    'one,two'

A `SET` can have a maximum of 64 different members.

Trailing spaces are automatically deleted from `SET` member values in the table definition when a table is created.

When retrieved, values stored in a `SET` column are displayed using the lettercase that was used in the column definition. Note that `SET` columns can be assigned a character set and collation. For binary or case-sensitive collations, lettercase is taken into account when assigning values to the column.

MySQL stores `SET` values numerically, with the low-order bit of the stored value corresponding to the first set member. If you retrieve a `SET` value in a numeric context, the value retrieved has bits set corresponding to the set members that make up the column value. For example, you can retrieve numeric values from a `SET` column like this:

    mysql> SELECT set_col+0 FROM tbl_name;

If a number is stored into a `SET` column, the bits that are set in the binary representation of the number determine the set members in the column value. For a column specified as `SET('a','b','c','d')`, the members have the following decimal and binary values:

`SET` Member | Decimal Value | Binary Value
`'a'` | `1` | `0001`
`'b'` | `2` | `0010`
`'c'` | `4` | `0100`
`'d'` | `8` | `1000`

If you assign a value of `9` to this column, that is `1001` in binary, so the first and fourth `SET` value members `'a'` and `'d'` are selected and the resulting value is `'a,d'`.

For a value containing more than one `SET` element, it does not matter what order the elements are listed in when you insert the value. It also does not matter how many times a given element is listed in the value. When the value is retrieved later, each element in the value appears once, with elements listed according to the order in which they were specified at table creation time. For example, suppose that a column is specified as `SET('a','b','c','d')`:

    mysql> CREATE TABLE myset (col SET('a', 'b', 'c', 'd'));

If you insert the values `'a,d'`, `'d,a'`, `'a,d,d'`, `'a,d,a'`, and `'d,a,d'`:

    mysql> INSERT INTO myset (col) VALUES
    -> ('a,d'), ('d,a'), ('a,d,a'), ('a,d,d'), ('d,a,d');
    Query OK, 5 rows affected (0.01 sec)
    Records: 5  Duplicates: 0  Warnings: 0

Then all of these values appear as `'a,d'` when retrieved:

    mysql> SELECT col FROM myset;
    +------+
    | col  |
    +------+
    | a,d  |
    | a,d  |
    | a,d  |
    | a,d  |
    | a,d  |
    +------+
    5 rows in set (0.04 sec)

If you set a `SET` column to an unsupported value, the value is ignored and a warning is issued:

    mysql> INSERT INTO myset (col) VALUES ('a,d,d,s');
    Query OK, 1 row affected, 1 warning (0.03 sec)

    mysql> SHOW WARNINGS;
    +---------+------+------------------------------------------+
    | Level   | Code | Message                                  |
    +---------+------+------------------------------------------+
    | Warning | 1265 | Data truncated for column 'col' at row 1 |
    +---------+------+------------------------------------------+
    1 row in set (0.04 sec)

    mysql> SELECT col FROM myset;
    +------+
    | col  |
    +------+
    | a,d  |
    | a,d  |
    | a,d  |
    | a,d  |
    | a,d  |
    | a,d  |
    +------+
    6 rows in set (0.01 sec)

If strict SQL mode is enabled, attempts to insert invalid `SET` values result in an error.

`SET` values are sorted numerically. `NULL` values sort before non-`NULL` `SET` values.

Normally, you search for `SET` values using the `FIND_IN_SET()` function or the `LIKE` operator:

    mysql> SELECT * FROM tbl_name WHERE FIND_IN_SET('value',set_col)>0;
    mysql> SELECT * FROM tbl_name WHERE set_col LIKE '%value%';

The first statement finds rows where `set_col` contains the `value` set member. The second is similar, but not the same: It finds rows where `set_col` contains `value` anywhere, even as a substring of another set member.

The following statements also are legal:

    mysql> SELECT * FROM tbl_name WHERE set_col & 1;
    mysql> SELECT * FROM tbl_name WHERE set_col = 'val1,val2';

The first of these statements looks for values containing the first set member. The second looks for an exact match. Be careful with comparisons of the second type. Comparing set values to `'`val1`,`val2`'` returns different results than comparing values to `'`val2`,`val1`'`. You should specify the values in the same order they are listed in the column definition.

If you want to determine all possible values for a `SET` column, use `SHOW COLUMNS FROM `tbl_name` LIKE `set_col`` and parse the `SET` definition in the `Type` column of the output.

## 11.5. Data Type Storage Requirements

The storage requirements for each of the data types supported by MySQL are listed here by category.

The maximum size of a row in a `MyISAM` table is 65,534 bytes. Each `BLOB` and `TEXT` column accounts for only five to nine bytes toward this size.

Important: For tables using the `NDBCluster` storage engine, there is the factor of 4-byte alignment to be taken into account when calculating storage requirements. This means that all `NDB` data storage is done in multiples of 4 bytes. Thus, a column value that — in a table using a storage engine other than `NDB` — would take 15 bytes for storage, requires 16 bytes in an `NDB` table. This requirement applies in addition to any other considerations that are discussed in this section. For example, in `NDBCluster` tables, the `TINYINT`, `SMALLINT`, `MEDIUMINT`, and `INTEGER` (`INT`) column types each require 4 bytes storage per record.

Storage Requirements for Numeric Types

Data Type | Storage Required
`TINYINT` | 1 byte
`SMALLINT` | 2 bytes
`MEDIUMINT` | 3 bytes
`INT`, `INTEGER` | 4 bytes
`BIGINT` | 8 bytes
`FLOAT(`p`)` | 4 bytes if 0 <= `p` <= 24, 8 bytes if 25 <= `p` <= 53
`FLOAT` | 4 bytes
`DOUBLE [PRECISION]`, `REAL` | 8 bytes
`DECIMAL(`M`,`D`)`, `NUMERIC(`M`,`D`)` | Varies; see following discussion
`BIT(`M`)` | approximately (`M`+7)/8 bytes

The storage requirements for `DECIMAL` (and `NUMERIC`) are version-specific:

As of MySQL 5.0.3, values for `DECIMAL` columns are represented using a binary format that packs nine decimal (base 10) digits into four bytes. Storage for the integer and fractional parts of each value are determined separately. Each multiple of nine digits requires four bytes, and the “leftover” digits require some fraction of four bytes. The storage required for excess digits is given by the following table:

Leftover Digits | Number of Bytes
0 | 0
1 | 1
2 | 1
3 | 2
4 | 2
5 | 3
6 | 3
7 | 4
8 | 4
9 | 4

Before MySQL 5.0.3, `DECIMAL` columns are represented as strings and storage requirements are: `M`+2 bytes if `D` > 0, ``M`+1` bytes if `D` = 0 (`D`+2, if ``M` < `D``)

Storage Requirements for Date and Time Types

Data Type | Storage Required
`DATE` | 3 bytes
`DATETIME` | 8 bytes
`TIMESTAMP` | 4 bytes
`TIME` | 3 bytes
`YEAR` | 1 byte

Storage Requirements for String Types

Data Type | Storage Required
`CHAR(`M`)` | ``M`` bytes, 0 `<= `M` <=` 255
`VARCHAR(`M`)` | Prior to MySQL 5.0.3: `L` + 1 bytes, where ``L` <= `M`` and 0 `<= `M` <=` 255. MySQL 5.0.3 and later: `L` + 1 bytes, where ``L` <= `M`` and 0 `<= `M` <=` 255 or `L` + 2 bytes, where ``L` <= `M`` and 256 `<= `M` <=` 65535 (see note below).
`BINARY(`M`)` | ``M`` bytes, 0 `<= `M` <=` 255
`VARBINARY(`M`)` | Prior to MySQL 5.0.3: `L` + 1 bytes, where ``L` <= `M`` and 0 `<= `M` <=` 255. MySQL 5.0.3 and later: `L` + 1 bytes, where ``L` <= `M`` and 0 `<= `M` <=` 255 or `L` + 2 bytes, where ``L` <= `M`` and 256 `<= `M` <=` 65535 (see note below).
`TINYBLOB`, `TINYTEXT` | `L`+1 byte, where `L` < 28
`BLOB`, `TEXT` | `L`+2 bytes, where `L` < 216
`MEDIUMBLOB`, `MEDIUMTEXT` | `L`+3 bytes, where `L` < 224
`LONGBLOB`, `LONGTEXT` | `L`+4 bytes, where `L` < 232
`ENUM('`value1`','`value2`',...)` | 1 or 2 bytes, depending on the number of enumeration values (65,535 values maximum)
`SET('`value1`','`value2`',...)` | 1, 2, 3, 4, or 8 bytes, depending on the number of set members (64 members maximum)

For the `CHAR`, `VARCHAR`, and `TEXT` types, the values `L` and `M` in the preceding table should be interpreted as number of characters, and lengths for these types in column specifications indicate the number of characters. For example, to store a `TINYTEXT` value requires `L` characters plus one byte.

`VARCHAR`, `VARBINARY`, and the `BLOB` and `TEXT` types are variable-length types. For each, the storage requirements depend on these factors:

- The actual length of the column value

- The column's maximum possible length

- The character set used for the column

For example, a `VARCHAR(10)` column can hold a string with a maximum length of 10. Assuming that the column uses the `latin1` character set (one byte per character), the actual storage required is the length of the string (`L`), plus one byte to record the length of the string. For the string `'abcd'`, `L` is 4 and the storage requirement is five bytes. If the same column was instead declared as `VARCHAR(500)`, the string `'abcd'` requires 4 + 2 = 6 bytes. Two bytes rather than one are required for the prefix because the length of the column is greater than 255 characters.

To calculate the number of bytes used to store a particular `CHAR`, `VARCHAR`, or `TEXT` column value, you must take into account the character set used for that column. In particular, when using the `utf8` Unicode character set, you must keep in mind that not all `utf8` characters use the same number of bytes. For a breakdown of the storage used for different categories of `utf8` characters, see Section 10.7, “Unicode Support”.

Note: In MySQL 5.0.3 and later, the effective maximum length for a `VARCHAR` or `VARBINARY` column is 65,532.

As of MySQL 5.0.3, the `NDBCLUSTER` engine supports only fixed-width columns. This means that a `VARCHAR` column from a table in a MySQL Cluster will behave as follows:

- If the size of the column is fewer than 256 characters, the column requires one byte extra storage per row.

- If the size of the column is 256 characters or more, the column requires two bytes extra storage per row.

Note that the number of bytes required per character varies according to the character set used. For example, if a `VARCHAR(100)` column in a Cluster table uses the `utf8` character set, then each character requires 3 bytes storage. This means that each record in such a column takes up 100 × 3 + 1 = 301 bytes for storage, regardless of the length of the string actually stored in any given record. For a `VARCHAR(1000)` column in a table using the `NDBCLUSTER` storage engine with the `utf8` character set, each record will use 1000 × 3 + 2 = 3002 bytes storage; that is, the column is 1,000 characters wide, each character requires 3 bytes storage, and each record has a 2-byte overhead because 1,000 > 256.

The `BLOB` and `TEXT` types require 1, 2, 3, or 4 bytes to record the length of the column value, depending on the maximum possible length of the type. See Section 11.4.3, “The `BLOB` and `TEXT` Types”.

`TEXT` and `BLOB` columns are implemented differently in the NDB Cluster storage engine, wherein each row in a `TEXT` column is made up of two separate parts. One of these is of fixed size (256 bytes), and is actually stored in the original table. The other consists of any data in excess of 256 bytes, which stored in a hidden table. The rows in this second table are always 2,000 bytes long. This means that the size of a `TEXT` column is 256 if `size` <= 256 (where `size` represents the size of the row); otherwise, the size is 256 + `size` + (2000 – (`size` – 256) % 2000).

The size of an `ENUM` object is determined by the number of different enumeration values. One byte is used for enumerations with up to 255 possible values. Two bytes are used for enumerations having between 256 and 65,535 possible values. See Section 11.4.4, “The `ENUM` Type”.

The size of a `SET` object is determined by the number of different set members. If the set size is `N`, the object occupies `(`N`+7)/8` bytes, rounded up to 1, 2, 3, 4, or 8 bytes. A `SET` can have a maximum of 64 members. See Section 11.4.5, “The `SET` Type”.

## 11.6. Choosing the Right Type for a Column

For optimum storage, you should try to use the most precise type in all cases. For example, if an integer column is used for values in the range from `1` to `99999`, `MEDIUMINT UNSIGNED` is the best type. Of the types that represent all the required values, this type uses the least amount of storage.

Tables created in MySQL 5.0.3 and above uses a new storage format for `DECIMAL` columns. All basic calculation (`+,-,*,/`) with `DECIMAL` columns are done with precision of 65 decimal (base 10) digits. See Section 11.1.1, “Overview of Numeric Types”.

Prior to MySQL 5.0.3, calculations on `DECIMAL` values are performed using double-precision operations. If accuracy is not too important or if speed is the highest priority, the `DOUBLE` type may be good enough. For high precision, you can always convert to a fixed-point type stored in a `BIGINT`. This allows you to do all calculations with 64-bit integers and then convert results back to floating-point values as necessary.

## 11.7. Using Data Types from Other Database Engines

To facilitate the use of code written for SQL implementations from other vendors, MySQL maps data types as shown in the following table. These mappings make it easier to import table definitions from other database systems into MySQL:

Other Vendor Type | MySQL Type
`BOOL`, | `TINYINT`
`BOOLEAN` | `TINYINT`
`CHAR VARYING(`M`)` | `VARCHAR(`M`)`
`DEC` | `DECIMAL`
`FIXED` | `DECIMAL`
`FLOAT4` | `FLOAT`
`FLOAT8` | `DOUBLE`
`INT1` | `TINYINT`
`INT2` | `SMALLINT`
`INT3` | `MEDIUMINT`
`INT4` | `INT`
`INT8` | `BIGINT`
`LONG VARBINARY` | `MEDIUMBLOB`
`LONG VARCHAR` | `MEDIUMTEXT`
`LONG` | `MEDIUMTEXT`
`MIDDLEINT` | `MEDIUMINT`
`NUMERIC` | `DECIMAL`

Data type mapping occurs at table creation time, after which the original type specifications are discarded. If you create a table with types used by other vendors and then issue a `DESCRIBE `tbl_name`` statement, MySQL reports the table structure using the equivalent MySQL types. For example:

    mysql> CREATE TABLE t (a BOOL, b FLOAT8, c LONG VARCHAR, d NUMERIC);
    Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

    mysql> DESCRIBE t;
    +-------+---------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
    | Field | Type          | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
    +-------+---------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
    | a     | tinyint(1)    | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
    | b     | double        | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
    | c     | mediumtext    | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
    | d     | decimal(10,0) | YES  |     | NULL    |       |
    +-------+---------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
    4 rows in set (0.01 sec)

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