Introduction to MySQL Data Type
When dealing with any relational database, you need to use the tables to store the data. These tables can contain multiple columns to store the number of the fields for each record. A single row corresponds to a single record of that table. When you define the fields to be stored in the table while creating it, you need to specify the name of the column and the corresponding data type and other constraints and properties if any. Data types play a crucial role while designing the tables and their columns. You need to consider the purpose of the column, what type of values will be stored in it, the range of the values that will be stored, and the format in which the data needs to be stored for each column. All these things are defined by the data type that you are using for each column of the table. In this article, we will learn about the data types available in MySQL, their range, and other details and also discuss their usage and purpose.
Characteristics of datatypes in MySQL
MySQL provides many datatypes other than numeric and string types to store the values in the columns. These datatypes can be used to specify the behavior of the columns and type of values that will be allowed to store in it. Datatypes in MySQL are associated with multiple characteristics that are as defined below:
The type of values that will be stored and represented in the declared columns.
The memory space requirement of that datatype for storage and also to define whether the values in that column will be of variable or fixed length.
Whether the column’s values for that datatype can be used for indexing.
Comparison of that values of that datatype with other values in MySQL.
MySQL Data Type
Mysql provides various data types that are further grouped based on the kind of the values stored in that datatype columns. The datatypes can be broadly classified into the following groups:
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We will discuss and have a look at the datatypes under each group in the list manner that will contain the name of all data types. Before that let us have a brief overlook of some of the most used data types out them along with the range of the values and kind of content that will be stored in them.
|
Name of datatype |
Range |
Kind of data stored |
| VARCHAR | (0 – 255) | String |
| CHAR | (0 – 255) | String |
| INT | (-2147483648 to 214748- 3647) | Integer |
| TINYINT | (-128 to 127) | Integer |
| MEDIUMINT | (-8388608 to 8388607) | Integer |
| BIGINT | (-9223372036854775808 to 9223372036854775807) | Integer |
| SMALLINT | (-32768 to 32767) | Integer |
| TEXT | 0 – 65535 | String |
| DOUBLE | (24 to 53 digits) | Decimal |
| BLOB | (0 – 65535) | String |
| DECIMAL | (24 to 53 digits) | Double value but stored in string format |
| BOOLEAN | 1 | TINYINT |
| DATETIME | YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM: SS | |
| TIME | HH:MM: SS | |
| DATE | YYYY-MM-DD | |
| ENUM | Can store one of the defined options of values | |
| SET | Can store selected values of the defined options of values |
1. String Data Types
We can store the binary data like images of other media files and even plain test in the string data type values in MySQL. Further, MySQL provides different functionalities for searching the string values using regular expressions, like operator or full-text search that help in using and manipulating string values.
The following list contains all the available data types that help to store string values:
- TEXT
- LONGTEXT
- MEDIUMTEXT
- TINYTEXT
- BLOB
- MEDIUMBLOB
- TINYBLOB
- LONGBLOB
- CHAR
- VARCHAR
- ENUM
- SET
- BINARY
- VARBINARY
2. Numeric Data type
We can store numeric values of different ranges and formats in MySQL. Exact and approximate numeric values can be stored using MySQL numeric datatypes. Besides that, MySQL also provides the functionality to store the bit values using the BIT data type.
The following list contains all the numeric data types available in MySQL.
- INT
- SMALLINT
- BIGINT
- MEDIUMINT
- TINYINT
- FLOAT
- DECIMAL
- DOUBLE
- BIT
3. Boolean Data Type
Mysql does not provide a dedicated data type for storing boolean values. However, whenever a BOOLEAN or BOOL named datatype is created in MySQL it is internally interpreted as TINYINT(1) datatype by MySQL.
4. Date and Time Data Types
We can store date, time individually as well as togetherly in MySQL. The timestamp can also be used to store and track the changes to the rows of the table. Besides that, if you want to store just a year then you can use the YEAR data type.
The following list contains all the date and time-related data types available in MySQL.
- DATETIME
- DATE
- TIME
- YEAR
- TIMESTAMP
5. Spatial Data Type
MySQL provides us the facility to store the geometrical and geographical values in various data types.
The following list contains all the spatial data types available in MySQL.
- GEOMETRY
- MULTIPOINT
- POINT
- MULTIPOLYGON
- LINESTRING
- GEOMETRY COLLECTION
- MULTILINESTRING
- POLYGON
6. JSON Data Type
Mysql version 5.7.8 and further comes with the support of storing the JSON data type for storing and manipulating documents of JSON easily and efficiently. Validation of the JSON documents is done automatically when the column is declared to be of JSON data type in MySQL. This datatype provides optimal storage of JJSON documents that can be handled and stored effectively.
Conclusion
MySQL comes with multiple data types that can be used to declare the type of the value, its format, nature, storage space required, and comparison basis. Different data types are grouped in MySQL depending on the kind of values stored in those columns. Which data type should be used to store the values in your columns of the table depends on all the above factors. You should consider the type of value and the range up to which the value can extend while determining the datatype to be assigned to the column.
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