DATA TYPE

DATA TYPE

1. When setting up a database, the correct data type should be used for each field.

2. Picking the right data type ensures that the database space is as small as possible. With the right data types, the size of the fields, rows, tables and database are small for faster and more efficient reads and writes.

3. The most common data types are:

DATA TYPE	DESCRIPTION
Text	Text, number and symbols.
Memo	Long text entry.
Number	A whole number or a decimal number.
Currency	Automatically formats the data to have a currency symbol in front of the data and also ensures that there are two decimals places.
Data/Time	- This restricts data entry to 1-31 for day (28 or 30 in appropriate months) and 1-12 for month. - It checks that a date does exist. - May include time.
Auto-number	Database Management System (DBMS) automatically generates an auto-number that increases by 1 as records are added to the database to create a unique number.
Boolean	Accepts either True or False value.
Hyperlink	Email address or web address that links to an email or web pages.
Object/Binary Large Object (BLOB)	Photo, audio, video or a document in software specific format (PDF, Word document, etc).
Attachment	Files that are attached to the field. By clicking, the file can be opened by the respective program.