Thinking about size of various MySQL types

Friday, February 22, 2008, 4:32 PM
Thoughts by John (Article #187)

When designing a user-driven system, anticipating the type of storage types needed in MySQL to accommodate the project can be challenging. Of course, MySQL never helps anyone's cause by making sure their online manual is, ahem, not for beginners. Or intermediates. Or even low-level advanced skill folks.

But, the part of the manual that handle data types is surprisingly coherent if you have an intermediate level of skill with MySQL (that pretty much describes me).

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I was fishing around because I'm debating the merits of the TEXT, MEDIUMTEXT and LONGTEXT functions. I really wish MySQL had an in-between function. TEXT allows a 64 kb string. If you go up just one level, you get a friggin 16 Mb string! And the next? Bigger than my first hard drive.

The project I'm doing will allow a large number of folks to convert a lot of data into a huge number of text fields. Since the general upload default size for my server is 8 Mb (I've upped it to 16 Mb), I figure a MEDIUMTEXT is just pushing things. Also, it will be free registration, and you have to eventually consider how much free space you're going to give away on a fairly small server.

But, it is an issue we all have to deal with. There are going to be folks who want more than a 64 kb block of data in those database fields. Should I give it to them?

Well, if I had Google's cash, sure, I would. Not with my cash, though.

Which is why I wish MySQL had something a bit more in-between. I know I can shoehorn this into the MEDIUMTEXT fields, but 90% of the fun of MySQL is letting it do the work for you.

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Thank you,
John Crawford
Pro Content and Design