Oracle LOB Storage - Quiz Explanation

The correct answers are indicated below, along with text that explains the correct answers.

1.	You want to give your Oracle database users access to a set of bitmapped image files that are already used in some word processing documents through your Oracle database. Which kind of data type would require the least administrative work on your part to get started? Please select the best answer.
	A.	BLOB
	B.	CLOB
	C.	NCLOB
	D.	BFILE
	Answer D is correct. Choose NCLOB when you want national character set semantics for multilingual text. The “in-row vs out-of-row” behavior depends on the actual byte size and workload; with multibyte character data, 2,000 characters does not guarantee in-row storage. The key concept here is selecting NCLOB for the datatype

2.	You want to store the Japanese translations of text used in online help files in a LOB data type. The online help is divided into smallish portions–no more than 2,000 Japanese characters each. Which data type should you choose? Please select the best answer.
	A.	BLOB in-line
	B.	CLOB in-line
	C.	CLOB out of line
	D.	NCLOB in-line
	Answer D is correct. You want to use the NCLOB data type, because you will be storing a double-byte language. Because there will be no more than 2,000 characters, in-line storage will probably be your best choice.

3.	You want to store the chapters of a book you are writing in English in an Oracle database. Which data type should you choose? Please select the best answer.
	A.	CLOB in-line
	B.	CLOB out of line
	C.	NCLOB in-line
	D.	NCLOB out of line
	Answer B is correct. Because the book is written in English text, you should choose a CLOB datatype. Book chapters are typically large enough that out-of-row storage is the safer default, keeping table rows smaller and avoiding row bloat.