Import NULL or empty field field value

[ChrisRChamberlain]

Hi all

If you are importing data from an external data source and you have the choice of populating empty fields with NULL, what are the pros and cons of doing so?

TIA

FAQ184-2483 - answering getting answered.​

Chris
PDFcommander^tm.net
PDFcommander^tm.com

 

[r937]

if the field is numeric, or a date field, you really have only one choice -- NULL

anything else would be a "dummy" or "default" value, which gets you into way more trouble than NULL will

as for strings, well, there are some people who like the empty string (a non-NULL value), but i don't belong to that group

NULL can be your friend!! ™

r937.com | rudy.ca

 

[ChrisRChamberlain]

r937

Thanks for your reply

Populating all empty fields with NULL is the easist option - I was wondering if there are any performance issues with SELECT etc?

FAQ184-2483 - answering getting answered.​

Chris
PDFcommander^tm.net
PDFcommander^tm.com

 

[r937]

performance issues? none that you could measure



r937.com | rudy.ca

 

[ChrisRChamberlain]

r937

Thanks for the confirmation

FAQ184-2483 - answering getting answered.​

Chris
PDFcommander^tm.net
PDFcommander^tm.com