> > Also, should the syntax be SET TYPE, not just TYPE? > > Shrug ... I dunno whether Rod had a precedent for that choice or not.
FireBird: ALTER COLUMN <column> TYPE <type> DB2: ALTER COLUMN <column> SET DATA TYPE <type>. Oracle: MODIFY <column> <type> MSSQL: ALTER COLUMN <column> <type> <constraints> MySQL: Both Oracle and MSSQL Sap: MODIFY <column> <type> Spec: Nothing (obvious) on changing column types MODIFY is horrible. It seems to drop all constraints, defaults, etc that are not specified in the second definition. It is essentially a replacement of the column. FireBird is the closest to our implementation. DB2 only allows changing the length of a VARCHAR and even then it is restrictive in the amount the length can change by. I remember polling -hackers to see if there were objections at the time, but the syntax is easy enough to change if you wish. ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 7: don't forget to increase your free space map settings
