BLOB and TEXT Data Types

Overview of large object types. This page compares BLOB (binary) and TEXT (character) types, explaining their storage and usage differences.

Description

A BLOB is a binary large object that can hold a variable amount of data. The four BLOB types are

• TINYBLOB,

• BLOB,

• MEDIUMBLOB, and

• LONGBLOB.

These differ only in the maximum length of the values they can hold.

The TEXT types are

• TINYTEXT,

• TEXT,

• MEDIUMTEXT, and

• LONGTEXT.

• JSON (alias for LONGTEXT)

These correspond to the four BLOB types and have the same maximum lengths and storage requirements.

BLOB and TEXT columns can have a DEFAULT value.

Note

It is possible to set a unique index on columns that use the BLOB or TEXT data types.

See Also

• Store a column as compressed

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