Home Forums Database Design Relational Theory varchar versus nvarchar RE: varchar versus nvarchar

  • December 2, 2008 at 9:58 am

    #906335

    Carla Wilson (12/2/2008)

    So I was wondering what the general consensus is on using varchar versus nvarchar, especially for longer strings. Is it considered best practice to always use nvarchar, or are there some other considerations?

    Best practice is to always use the appropriate data type. so if you're going to be storing unicode, make the column nvarchar. If you're not storing unicode (just ascii strings) then make the column varchar.

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

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