>Hi,
>
>We are putting together a database which will utilise 22 character UIDs as the primary key on most tables. Has anyone done any tests to see if there is a significant performance penalty for using varchar as the datatype for the primary and foreign keys rather than char?
>
>The data will be stored in Orcacle of MS SQL Server databases rather than VFP tables.
>
>TIA

Mike,
There is no perceptable difference. Varchar fields simply preserve tablespace usage because the trailing spaces are not stored.

The real performance difference will be seen because you are using 22 character index keys.

Regards.