LONG
columns can be up to 2 gigabytes in length. In importing and exporting, the LONG
columns must fit into memory with the rest of each row's data. The memory used to store LONG
columns, however, does not need to be contiguous, because LONG
data is loaded in sections.
Import can be used to convert LONG
columns to CLOB
columns. To do this, first create a table specifying the new CLOB
column. When Import is run, the LONG
data is converted to CLOB
format. The same technique can be used to convert LONG
RAW
columns to BLOB
columns.
Note:
Oracle recommends that you convert existing LONG
columns to LOB columns. LOB columns are subject to far fewer restrictions than LONG
columns. Further, LOB functionality is enhanced in every release, whereas LONG
functionality has been static for several releases.