Effects of not using NOT NULL

PostgreSQL uses a bitmask to track NULL values. There is a bit for
every column in the row _if_ there are any nulls in the row, at least in
7.3beta. It does require a null indicator in client applications.

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"Matthew V." < wrote:

In DB2, when tables are created without using NOT NULL on columns, an
extra byte is added to each record in the column as a NULL indicator flag.
This byte is part of the data, and it exists for every occurrence of that
field. (I think it's a byte--it might be two). This has the tendency to
add a lot of space to the tablespace for maintaining the NULL indicator,
and also imposes a requirement on embedded SQL applications of using a
NULL indicator field when selecting/updating such fields. E.g.:

EXEC SQL
SELECT nullableField
INTO :variabe:nullIndicator
FROM table
END-EXEC.

where nullIndicator is defined as a binary field (short, PIC S9(04) COMP,
etc) in the host language. A seperate variable must be used for each
nullable field being selected.

Does Postgresql include a similar NULL indicator flag on nullable fields,
and if so, how big is it? Also, does that impose the restriction on
embedded SQL of having a variable in which to store the null indicator
flag?

--
Matthew Vanecek
perl -e 'print $i=pack(c5,(41*2),sqrt(7056),(unpack(c,H)-2),oct(115),10);'

Nice .sig:

$ perl -e 'print $i=pack(c5,(41*2),sqrt(7056),(unpack(c,H)-2),oct(115),10);'
RTFM

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