[thelist] Query help?

[rudy]

> Some databases will skip a bunch of numbers if/when the server crashes.

well, don't use that type of server, then

;o)

> Does MySQL have such an anomaly?  If so, what is the default gap?

keine ahnung, although it wouldn't surprise me

> If there is a gap then it would seem that this 32k may not be
> as far fetched as we first thought.

agree

plus, if you use a dataype that's a bit too big for a reasonably sized
table, then the "wasted" space doesn't really add up to much, does it

in a similar manner, if you have character data that's all more or less the
same size, let's say 40 characters, and you're worried about perhaps
encountering a value that's 60 characters wide, should you bite the bullet
and define it VARCHAR or should you just say CHAR(60) and waste the space?

> Also, for MySQL, what is the limit on SMALLINT?  If it's not
> 8 bit (TINYINT) and not 16 bit (INTEGER), then what is it?

actually, mysql's tinyint is 4 bits, and smallint is 8 bits

> so, why not use an INTEGER anyway?

because smallint is ansi standard and better suited to smaller numbers?

but yeah, like i said, on reasonably sized tables you'd never feel the
difference


rudy