> > Best, depending on the scenario. In cases where you are using a fixed
number
> > of characters, there's no need for the overhead of a varchar. For
instance
> > if you are storing state abbreviations, they will ALWAYS be 2
characters.
>
> Does anyone else get annoyed when going on to an american site to
> register or buy something and find that the state field is only
> 2 characters long?
Sorry, I didn't realize that many other countries had states... the only
other frame of reference that I have is Canadian Provinces, which also have
2 character codes. Since we only do business with countries in the United
States and Canada I'm woefully ignorant of international standards. I'd also
like to apologise for our backwards use of the Imperial measurement
system... but that one is not my fault.
> Remember, America != World. Be careful when you say always...
Sorry, I was trying to give what I thought was a somewhat more concrete
example without having to stipulate a number of qualifications. Let me
rephrase to be more internationally correct: "If you are storing United
States of America state abbreviations, they will ALWAYS be 2 characters, as
long as the U.S. Postal Service decides to stick with the current standards,
the United States remains an autonomous state capable of determining
internal boundaries and their designations, the programming community
doesn't agree on another standard of naming states, you don't decide to use
a numbering system for faster table joins, and you don't decide to make up
your own abbreviations consisting of a number of characters other than 2."
Does anyone else get annoyed when people jump all over someone because they
didn't spend 20 minutes proofreading something for political correctness
when they were trying to help someone else?
Greg