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Databases SQL Basics Finding the Data You Want Searching Tables with 'WHERE'

Question on Integer data type

Can integer data types work for numbers when there is a 0 prefix? For instance, a five digit zip code such as 07210. A social security number and bank account# are other examples.

For instance, we don't want a 07210 zip code to display as 7210. Or a customer with bank account # 00012345 may not be the same as one with 0012345 or 12345

1 Answer

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
229,732 Points

Even though they are composed entirely of digits, since no math is ever done on them it can be better to store data like zip codes and account numbers as strings.