text and image columns are not initialized until you update them or insert a non-null value. Initialization allocates at least one data page for each non-null text or image data value. It also creates a pointer in the table to the location of the text or image data.
For example, the following statements create the table testtext and initialize the blurb column by inserting a non-null value. The column now has a valid text pointer, and the first text page has been allocated.
create table texttest (title_id varchar(6), blurb text null, pub_id char(4))
insert texttest values
("BU7832", "Straight Talk About Computers is an annotated analysis of what computers can do for you: a no-hype guide for the critical user.", "1389")
The following statements create a table for image values and initialize the image column:
create table imagetest (image_id varchar(6), imagecol image null, graphic_id char(4))
insert imagetest values
("94732", 0x0000008300000000000100000000013c, "1389")
Remember to surround text values
with quotation marks and precede image values
with the characters “0x”.
For information on inserting and updating text and image data with Client-Library programs, see the Client-Library/C Reference Manual.
