What is a Blob? (Embedded SQL Guide)
Go Up to Working with Blob Data
A Blob is a dynamically sizable data type that has no specified size and encoding. You can use a Blob to store large amounts of data of various types, including:
- Bitmapped images
- Vector drawings
- Sounds, video segments, and other multimedia information
- Text and data, including book-length documents
Data stored in the Blob data type can be manipulated in most of the same ways as data stored in any other data type. InterBase stores Blob data inside the database, in contrast to similar other systems that store pointers to non-database files. For each Blob, there is a unique identification handle in the appropriate table to point to the database location of the Blob. By maintaining the Blob data within the database, InterBase improves data management and access.
The combination of true database management of Blob data and support for a variety of data types makes InterBase Blob support ideal for transaction-intensive multimedia applications. For example, InterBase is an excellent platform for interactive kiosk applications that might provide hundreds or thousands of product descriptions, photographs, and video clips, in addition to point-of-sale and order processing capabilities.