Data Types

Each table listed in the summary above is detailed below, including columns, data types, and descriptions. The data type refers type of value that each column can contain. The following data types are used in the table details below:

Data Type Description
int This data type stores an integer. Often used for object IDs. The int value stores 4 bytes of data.
smallint This data type stores an integer. The smallint value stores 2 bytes of data.
nvarchar(n) This data type stores strings of varying lengths; the parenthetical numeric value is the maximum length allowed in the column. In addition to text, the string can include digits and symbols; the field supports both single- and double-byte characters.
bit This data type stores Boolean values. Typically a value of "1" is true, while a "0" is false.
uniqueidentifier This data type stores a GUID value.
image This data type stores data in binary blobs. This data cannot be viewed using traditional methods and must be extracted using data services macros.
ntext This data type stores text strings and supports both single- and double-byte characters.
datetime This data type stores a time and date stamp for the data, based on your locale settings. By default, this format is "m/dd/yyyy" or "h:m:s". Quotes (") are used to enclose dates and times.
smalldatetime This data type stores a date stamp for the data, based on your locale settings, but does not include a time stamp. By default, this format is "m/dd/yyyy". Quotes (") are used to enclose dates and times.
float This data type stores a varying numeric value.