What is the benefit of zerofill in MySQL?
I just want to know what is the benefit/usage of defining ZEROFILL for INT DataType in MySQL?
`id` INT UNSIGNED ZEROFILL NOT NULL
Solution 1:
When you select a column with type ZEROFILL it pads the displayed value of the field with zeros up to the display width specified in the column definition. Values longer than the display width are not truncated. Note that usage of ZEROFILL also implies UNSIGNED.
Using ZEROFILL and a display width has no effect on how the data is stored. It affects only how it is displayed.
Here is some example SQL that demonstrates the use of ZEROFILL:
CREATE TABLE yourtable (x INT(8) ZEROFILL NOT NULL, y INT(8) NOT NULL);
INSERT INTO yourtable (x,y) VALUES
(1, 1),
(12, 12),
(123, 123),
(123456789, 123456789);
SELECT x, y FROM yourtable;
Result:
x y
00000001 1
00000012 12
00000123 123
123456789 123456789
Solution 2:
One example in order to understand, where the usage of ZEROFILL might be interesting:
In Germany, we have 5 digit zipcodes. However, those Codes may start with a Zero, so 80337 is a valid zipcode for munic, 01067 is a zipcode of Berlin.
As you see, any German citizen expects the zipcodes to be displayed as a 5 digit code, so 1067 looks strange.
In order to store those data, you could use a VARCHAR(5) or INT(5) ZEROFILL whereas the zerofilled integer has two big advantages:
- Lot lesser storage space on hard disk
- If you insert
1067, you still get01067back
Maybe this example helps understanding the use of ZEROFILL.
Solution 3:
It's a feature for disturbed personalities who like square boxes.
You insert
1
23
123
but when you select, it pads the values
000001
000023
000123
Solution 4:
It helps in correct sorting in the case that you will need to concatenate this "integer" with something else (another number or text) which will require to be sorted as a "text" then.
for example,
if you will need to use the integer field numbers (let's say 5) concatenated as A-005 or 10/0005