Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Dealing with Large Objects
Databases provide data types as suitable containers to store values accordingly. You
use the
int
data type to store numeric values and
char
and
varchar
data types for
string values. Each data type has its own limitations with respect to the size and type
of data it can store. A database solution model will be based on real life problems,
therefore these are not the only types of data that you will always confront. We do
not live in the ice age anymore; we have to store large-sized images, audio, video
iles and
varchar
is certainly not the answer to this. Objects that require huge
storage size and can't be entertained with simple available data types are usually
referred to as
Large Objects
(
LOs
) or
Binary Large OBjects
(
BLOBs
). To handle
these LOs, you need a LO storage mechanism that can store them easily and access
them eficiently.
This chapter is all about large objects, and it is well described under this heading to
give you a clear concept of LOs or BLOBs. In this chapter, we will cover the following:
• Why large objects?
• PostgreSQL large objects
• Large objects in action
• Manipulating large objects through the
libpq
client interface library
Why large objects?
We will see in a more comparative mode why and where we need large objects.
You can categorize large objects in general, based on the structure or type of data.
The types you usually come across are as follows:
• Simple
• Complex
