Data types in the DBMS
Release 9.2 Last modified May 14, 2008	Print all topics in : "Geodatabase table properties"

When you create a table or add a field to a table in the geodatabase, fields are created as a specific data type. Data types are classifications that identify possible values for and operations that can be done on the data, as well as the way the data in that field is stored in the database.

When you import data of one type into a field of another data type, you need to understand what the equivalent data types are between ArcSDE and your database management system (DBMS) because it can impact data content. Also, when creating new datasets in ArcGIS, it is helpful to know the equivalent data types between ArcGIS and your DBMS. For example, if you add a floating point (float) column to an existing feature class, that equates to a numeric data type column in a SQL Server database.

NOTE: Moving data from one database to another can cause data types to remap.

Learn how data converts from one type to another

File geodatabase data types are the same as ArcGIS data types. For DBMS products, though, data types can differ. The sections below contain information on how DBMS data types map to ArcGIS data types.

Oracle data types

When you create a feature class or table in ArcGIS, there are 11 different data types available for each column. These types are mapped to Oracle types in the table below.

ArcGIS data type	Oracle data type	Notes
OBJECTID	NUMBER(38)	NOT NULL
SHORT INTEGER	NUMBER(4)
LONG INTEGER	NUMBER(38)
FLOAT	NUMBER(38,8)
DOUBLE	NUMBER(38,8)
TEXT	VARCHAR2(50)
DATE	DATE
BLOB	BLOB
GUID	CHAR(38)
GEOMETRY	ST_GEOMETRY* NUMBER(38) SDO_GEOMETRY	Oracle data type depends on the geometry storage specified for the layer.
RASTER	BLOB LONG_RAW	Oracle data type depends on the raster storage specified in the DBTUNE table.

*ST_Geometry is a superclass. The actual data subtype created (such as ST_Multilinestring or ST_Point) depends on what type of feature class you create, such as polygon, line, point, multipoint, and multipatch.

SQL Server data types

When you create a feature class or table in ArcGIS, there are 11 different data types available for each column. These types are mapped to SQL Server types in the table below.

ArcGIS data type	SQL Server data type
OBJECTID	INT(4)*
SHORT INTEGER	SMALLINT(2)
LONG INTEGER	INT(4)
FLOAT	REAL
DOUBLE	DOUBLE**
TEXT	VARCHAR(n)
DATE	DATETIME
BLOB	IMAGE
GUID	UNIQUEIDENTIFIER(16)
GEOMETRY	IMAGE
RASTER	IMAGE

*NOT NULL

**If scale is set to greater than 0 in ArcGIS, the SQL Server data type will be NUMERIC.

DB2 data types

When you create a feature class or table in ArcGIS, there are 11 different data types available for each column. These types are mapped to DB2 types in the table below.

ArcGIS data type	DB2 data type	Notes
OBJECTID	INTEGER(4)	NOT NULL
SHORT INTEGER	SMALLINT(2)
LONG INTEGER	INTEGER(4)
FLOAT	DECIMAL(31,8)
DOUBLE	DECIMAL(31,8)
TEXT	VARCHAR(n)
DATE	TIMESTAMP
BLOB	BLOB
GUID	CHARACTER(38)
GEOMETRY	ST_GEOMETRY	ST_Geometry is a superclass. The actual data subtype created (such as ST_Multilinestring or ST_Point) depends on what type of feature class you create, such as polygon, line, point, multipoint, and multipatch.
RASTER	INTEGER(4)

Informix data types

When you create a feature class or table in ArcGIS, there are 11 different data types available for each column. These types are mapped to Informix types in the table below.

ArcGIS data type	Informix data type	Notes
OBJECTID	INT(4)	NOT NULL
SHORT INTEGER	SMALLINT(2)
LONG INTEGER	INT(4)
FLOAT	DECIMAL(32)
DOUBLE	DECIMAL(32)
TEXT	VARCHAR(n)
DATE	DATETIME
BLOB	BLOB
GUID	CHAR(8)
GEOMETRY	ST_GEOMETRY	ST_Geometry is a superclass. The actual data subtype created (such as ST_Multilinestring or ST_Point) depends on what type of feature class you create, such as polygon, line, point, multipoint, and multipatch.
RASTER	INT(4)

Access data types

When you create a feature class or table in ArcGIS, there are 11 different data types available for each column. These types are mapped to Access data types in the table below.

ArcGIS data type	Access data type	Notes
OBJECTID	Long Integer	OBJECTID is an AutoNumber field.
SHORT INTEGER	Integer
LONG INTEGER	Long Integer
FLOAT	Single
DOUBLE	Double
TEXT	Text
DATE	Date/Time
BLOB	OLE Object*
GUID	Number
GEOMETRY	OLE Object*
RASTER	Memo	Memo fields can store up to 65,536 characters.

*Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) Objects are objects created in other applications that are linked or embedded in Access. In this case, BLOB and GEOMETRY data types don't exist in Access, so the object is in ArcGIS and linked to the Access database.

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