How Did Oracle Finally Address the Lack of a Native Boolean Datatype?

Boolean data type in Oracle database: development history and current implementation

Unlike Microsoft SQL Server, which explicitly provides the BIT data type to represent Boolean values, the existence of a dedicated Boolean type in Oracle Database has been controversial for many years.

Pre-Oracle 23c versions

Prior to version 23c, Oracle lacked a native Boolean data type and developers could not get clear guidance on how to represent Boolean values. Therefore, various workarounds were adopted, such as using CHAR(1) for 'Y'/'N' or NUMBER(1) for 0/1. However, these methods have limitations in terms of internationalization and potential data inconsistencies.

Oracle 23c and higher

With the introduction of Oracle 23c, the situation has changed dramatically. Oracle has finally introduced a true Boolean data type, providing native support for Boolean values ​​without the need for clumsy workarounds. Boolean data types can be used in a variety of contexts, such as:

• List
• SQL expression
• PL/SQL variables

Other instructions

While Oracle 23c solves the long-standing problem of lack of Boolean data type, it is worth noting that the problem of empty strings being evaluated as FALSE is still unresolved. This characteristic may lead to unexpected results and should be kept in mind when working with Oracle databases.

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