* Dr. Internet columnist Steve Blass discusses the differences between MySQL character data types * Help Desk columnist Ron Nutter discusses the costs of data across a WAN
* Differences between MySQL character data types
By Steve Blass
Q: We have an XML schema defining documents that contain paragraphs of text collected from Web-based survey response forms, and we want to store them in a MySQL database. MySQL provides three data types for text storage elements: CHAR, VARCHAR and TEXT. Which is easiest and fastest to work with?
A: The differences in processing efficiency between MySQL’s three character storage types should not have a big impact on processing times unless your data sets are extremely large.
To read Steve’s response in its entirety, please click here.
* The costs of data across a WAN
By Ron Nutter
Q: Do different types of data have different costs of data for the same quantity? For instance, is using an equivalent amount of bandwidth, say 10Mb, viewing web pages more or less expensive than using 10Mb to download an MP3 or watch a streaming video? If so, what would cause the differences in cost? Is it the number of sources accessing the data?
A: In an ideal world, there shouldn’t be any difference in “cost” for a given type of traffic to traverse the Internet. There are other explanations for delays in the traffic in getting from the source to the destination.
To read Ron’s response in its entirety, please click here.
