VARBINARY

SQL Language StructureCommon Language Elements

`VARBINARY`

Data Type Declaration Format

{VARBINARY | BINARY VARYING} (length)

Table 1. `VARBINARY` Type Parameters
Parameter	Description
length	Length in bytes between 1 and 32,765

VARBINARY is a variable-length binary type, and is an SQL standard-compliant alias for VARCHAR(length) CHARACTER SET OCTETS.

Note	Some tools may report the type as `VARCHAR CHARACTER SET OCTETS` instead of `VARBINARY`.

`VARCHAR`

Data Type Declaration Format

{VARCHAR | {CHAR | CHARACTER} VARYING} (length)
  [CHARACTER SET <set>] [COLLATE <name>]

Table 1. `VARCHAR` Type Parameters
Parameter	Description
length	Length in characters.A valid length is from 1 to the maximum number of characters that can be accommodated within 32,765 bytes.
set	Character set name
name	Collation name

VARCHAR is a variable-length character data type, up to a maximum of 32,765 bytes.The stored structure is equal to the actual size of the data plus 2 bytes to record the length of the data.

All characters that are sent from the client application to the database are considered meaningful, including leading and trailing spaces.

Note	`VARCHAR CHARACTER SET OCTETS` has the alias `VARBINARY` Formally, the `COLLATE` clause is not part of the data type declaration, and its position depends on the syntax of the statement.