CODEWITHSUNDEEP
sql-server-2008types
Jim
Jim

Reputation: 3

SQL server datatype int Vs Big int

I created a table with column id as int data type. However, I realized that int type may not be able to hold some of the values I might put in the table. I wish to find out, if I define the column as bigint, does it take up "space" or does it use space on the database EVEN before I put a value in the column? I am using sql server 2008 R2. Thank you.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 1270

Answers (2)

Spencer
Spencer

Reputation: 1496

Every time you enter any number, even 1, it will use the full 8 bytes. So the extra storage overhead is 4bytes * number of rows. If you are worried that you numbers will grow higher than 2,147,483,647, then you should use bigint.

Upvotes: 1

Chris
Chris

Reputation: 28064

int always uses 4 bytes, bigint always uses 8 bytes. The actual value stored does not affect the size of the field.

Upvotes: 5

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