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>>The BINTOC() by default creates 4 byte string. The difference will be 2 bytes. It may or may not make a difference depending on the size of your table.
>>Keep in mind that index with BINTOC() requires collate MACHINE to work correctlt.
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>First, thank you for your message. I don't use SET COLLATE command in my application and MACHINE is default. Am I safe then to use the BINTOC()?
SET COLLATE is set to MACHINE by default. I would say, the answer is yes, you are safe.
In VFP 9, you can directly see what collation sequence is used by each index, just in case.
Collation sequences are used to correctly sort international characters, e.g., in Spanish and other languages, "á" should basically sort together with "a", not after "z".
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