varchar vs Text & TOAST - Mailing list pgsql-general

From Ow Mun Heng
Subject varchar vs Text & TOAST
Date
Msg-id 1220846304.30796.5.camel@neuromancer.home.net
Whole thread Raw
Responses Re: varchar vs Text & TOAST  (Craig Ringer <craig@postnewspapers.com.au>)
List pgsql-general
Hi,

I'm a (more than a) bit confuse as to the diference between TEXT and
varchar data-types.

AFAIK, varchar will have a max limit char of, if not mistaken ~65k? But
for TEXT, it's more like a BLOB and there's supposed to be no limit?

Anyhow, searching the archives (in my mail client - no internet at the
moment), I see references that when I use TEXT, I will create TOAST
tables which will have them lie _outside_ of my main data table.

I'm not sure what is the implications or etc. I'm wondering if I should
change my current usage of TEXT to varchar.

the columns will have data like

NULL:NULL:FLE:NULL:FLE:NULL:FLE:FLE

I initially chose TEXT, (for X reasons) and now since I found out about
the TOAST tables, (oh.. i didn't like the TOAST tables cos it's created
_not_ in my usual raidspace, but in my OS drive), I'm trying to
determine if I need to change the data-type.

comments? Advise?

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