BLOB vs TEXT: Which MySQL Datatype Should You Use?

Understanding the Differences between MySQL's BLOB and TEXT Datatypes

When dealing with data storage in MySQL, understanding the distinctions between the BLOB and TEXT datatypes is crucial. Let's delve into their differences and usage scenarios.

Binary vs. Character Storage

The fundamental distinction between BLOBs and TEXTs lies in how they store data. BLOBs (Binary Large OBjects) are employed to store raw binary data, including images, audio files, or any other data that doesn't require character interpretation. On the other hand, TEXT is designed for storing large character-based data like strings and documents.

Size Limitations

TEXT datatypes come with established size limits, ranging from TINYTEXT (255 bytes) to MEDIUMTEXT (16 MB) and LONGTEXT (4 GB). In contrast, BLOBs offer far greater storage capacities, with TINYBLOB, BLOB, MEDIUMBLOB, and LONGBLOB supporting up to 255 bytes, 64 KB, 16 MB, and 4 GB respectively.

Character Sets and Collations

TEXT data is inherently associated with character sets and collations, which determine how characters are encoded and sorted. These aspects can affect the performance of operations involving TEXT fields. BLOBs, on the other hand, lack character set and collation attributes, treating data as raw bytes and performing comparisons based solely on binary values.

Usage Considerations

BLOBs are ideal for storing data that needs to be preserved in its original binary format, such as images, videos, or file attachments. TEXT datatypes are preferred for large string-based content, such as articles, blog posts, or user-generated text.

Relationship between mediumblob and mediumtext

Despite sharing similar names, mediumblob and mediumtext have no direct equivalence. They represent distinct datatypes with different storage capacities and characteristics. Mediumblob can hold up to 16 MB of binary data, while mediumtext is limited to 16 MB of character data.

Understanding the MEDIUMBLOB, MEDIUMTEXT L 3 bytes

For MEDIUMBLOB and MEDIUMTEXT datatypes, "L" refers to the length of the data stored. In the case of MEDIUMBLOB, the maximum length is 16 MB. For MEDIUMTEXT, the maximum length is 16 - 3 MB, accommodating the additional 3 bytes required for storing the length prefix.

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