data types nchar/nvarchar versus char and varchar

[Jim Doherty]

My understanding is that the nchar/nvarchar data types as opposed to char
and varchar predominently enable storage as unicode thus improving
internationalisation potential relative to code pages.

At a practical level..... the net result when saved as unicode is that twice
the amount of disc space is required. Whilst disc space maybe not at a
premium nowadays are there any 'other' advantages to storing data as unicode
over and above the char and varchar data types for a local system of
moderate complexity. Are we looking at substantial speed gains or is there
something else I have missed?

All and any comments welcome

Jim

[Dan Guzman]

I know of no advantages provided by Unicode datatypes beyond
internationalization.

The increased space may require more i/o to do the same amount of work.
However, the actual performance difference depends largely on your schema
and application.

Note that some SQL Server functions (USER_NAME) return nvarchar so you may
want to consider char/nvarchar for columns which store those results.

IMHO, the best database design practice is to use datatypes appropriate for
the domain of possible values.

Hope this helps.

-----------------------
SQL FAQ links (courtesy Neil Pike):

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(faqxxx.zip in lib 7)
or www.ntfaq.com/Articles/Index.cfm?DepartmentID=800
or www.sqlserverfaq.com
or www.mssqlserver.com/faq
-----------------------

"Jim Doherty" <jim.d...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:EV3o6.4446$mt.5...@news2-win.server.ntlworld.com...

[Jim Doherty]

Thanks Dan,

I had a sneaking suspicion it might have impacted on various 'functional'
elements now I now thanks for the pointer :))

Jim

Dan Guzman <dang...@nospam-earthlink.net> wrote in message
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