BLOB, CLOB and DBCLOB

BLOB(n[K|M|G])

A BLOB (binary large object) is a variable-length binary string that can be up to 2 gigabytes (2 147 483 647 bytes) long.

If only n by itself is specified, the value of n is the maximum length. If K, M or G is specified the maximum length is 1 024, 1 048 576 or 1 073 741 824 times n, and the maximum value for n is 2 097 152, 2 048 or 2, respectively.

Binary large objects are used to hold data, such as pictures, video and audio. Like FOR BIT DATA character strings, BLOB strings are not associated with a code page.

CLOB(n[K|M|G])

A CLOB (character large object) is a variable-length character string that can be up to 2 gigabytes (2 147 483 647 bytes) long. If the length is zero, the value is called the empty string. This value should not be confused with the null value.

If only n by itself is specified, the value of n is the maximum length. If K, M or G is specified the maximum length is 1 024, 1 048 576 or 1 073 741 824 times n, and the maximum value for n is 2 097 152, 2 048 or 2, respectively.

Character large objects are used to store large SBCS's (single-byte character sets) character-based data such as formatted text, HTML and XML documents.

DBCLOB(n[K|M|G])

A DBCLOB (double-byte character large object) is a variable-length graphic string of double-byte characters that can be up to 1 073 741 823 characters long.

If only n by itself is specified, the value of n is the maximum length. If K, M or G is specified the maximum length is 1 024, 1 048 576 or 1 073 741 824 times n, and the maximum value for n is 1 048 576, 1 024 or 1, respectively.

Double-byte character large objects are used to store large DBCS's (double-byte character sets) character-based data.