Where does Oracle Multimedia fit in?
The Oracle Database supports three types of binary data types:
Binary Large Object (BLOB): This is a data type that contains binary data. Two structures exist in Oracle. The traditional one is called BASIC and a newer faster one, which was introduced in Oracle 11, is called SECUREFILES. The BASIC format will be desupported in a later release. The BLOB replaces the LONG data type which was the standard data type for any binary data. The LONG data type had a number of key limitations including only one being allowed per table and minimal support for controlling its storage. As of Oracle11g a BLOB does not have a maximum size.
Character Large Object (CLOB): This is a lob designed for text data. It is very similar in behavior to a VARCHAR of unlimited length. In Oracle 11g the difference is minor and text functions can be applied to a CLOB. A CLOB is useful for storing XML data. A CLOB is controlled by the database character set, whereas if an NCLOB is...