[My]SQL VARCHAR Size and Null-Termination

Question

Disclaimer: I'm very new to SQL and databases in general.

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I need to create a field that will store a maximum of 32 characters of text data. Does "VARCHAR(32)" mean that I have exactly 32 characters for my data? Do I need to reserve an extra character for null-termination?

I conducted a simple test and it seems that this is a WYSIWYG buffer. However, I wanted to get a concrete answer from people who actually know what they're doing.

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I have a C[++] background, so this question is raising alarm bells in my head.

Answer 1

Yes, you have 32 characters at your disposal. SQL does not concern itself with nul terminated strings like some programming languages do.

Answer 2

Your VARCHAR specification size is the max size of your data, so in this case, 32 characters. However, VARCHARS are a dynamic field, so the actual physical storage used is only the size of your data, plus one or two bytes.

If you put a 10-character string into a VARCHAR(32), the physical storage will be 11 or 12 bytes (the manual will tell you the exact formula).

However, when MySQL is dealing with result sets (ie. after a SELECT), 32 bytes will be allocated in memory for that field for every record.