CHAR Data Type Support
Versions 0.13 and later support the CHAR data type. This data type
simplifies the process of migrating data from other databases. Hive ignores trailing
whitespace characters for the CHAR data type. However, there is no consensus among
database vendors on the handling of trailing whitespaces. Before you perform a data
migration to Hive, consult the following table to avoid unexpected behavior with values
for CHAR, VARCHAR, and STRING data types.
The following table describes how several types of databases treat trailing whitespaces for the CHAR, VARCHAR, and STRING data types:
Table 2.7. Trailing Whitespace Characters on Various Databases
| Data Type | Hive | Oracle | SQL Server | MySQL | Teradata |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CHAR | Ignore | Ignore | Ignore | Ignore | Ignore |
VARCHAR | Compare | Compare | Configurable | Ignore | Ignore |
STRING | Compare | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |