integer Vs Number / role-owner

[naushi]

1) Is it true that using an INTEGER datatype (for data that will not have any decimals) is better from performance standpoint than using a NUMBER datatype.

2) How do you tell who created a user role. There is no coulmn such as role owner in any dictionary table. Regards,
Naushi Hussain
Naushi.hussain@honeywell.com

 

[sem]

In fact it's supposed that PLS_INTEGER is the fastest, because it uses native arithmetic. Regards, Dima

 

[carp]

But it's only usable in PL/SQL. You can't define a column with datatype INTEGER; only NUMBER.

 

[sem]

No, Carp, you CAN create INTEGER column, but not PLS_INTEGER or BINARY_INTEGER. Regards, Dima

 

[carp]

Boy, the things you learn! Thank-you for eliminating this ignorance!!

 

[carp]

Interestingly, Oracle is still using the NUMBER datatype for INTEGER:

create table x(y integer, z number);

select dump, dump(z) from x;

Typ=2 Len=2: 193,24
Typ=2 Len=3: 193,24,21

09:56:54 SQL> desc x;
Name Null? Type
-------------------------- -------- -------------
Y NUMBER(38)
Z NUMBER

So it appears that under the hood, Oracle automatically truncates numbers if the column datatype is INTEGER and then stores them as numbers.

Thanks again for the quick lesson!