>>> ...VFP requires n-bytes to store an N(n, d) field in a table.
>> I use integers, which use 4 bytes, but can store numbers up to 2e9.
>> Am I missing something here?
>Yes. The easiest way to understand how much space is required to store a N(n, d) field in a VFP table is to create two tables with a single numeric field, say N(1,0) for the first table and N(8, 0) for the second table. Leave the table empty and check the size of the tables (same size). Add a record in each table and check sizes again. The N(8,0) table takes 7 more bytes of disk space.

Why would I want to use N(8,0) if I could use the integer data type? This one uses only four bytes, and this is the field type I use for my primary keys (for most tables).

Of course, if you only need a two-digit integer, numeric would use less space than Integer. Otherwise, I seldom use numeric, since it can often be replaced with Integer, Double, or Currency, depending on the situation.

Hilmar.