SQL IMAGE Vs VARBINARY Datatype

The distinction between IMAGE and VARBINARY datatype will be discussed in this session.

SQL IMAGE Datatype

IMAGE is a binary data type with a variable length data type.

IMAGE has been deprecated and will be deprecated in a future SQL Server edition. Instead, use NVARCHAR(Max).

Example: SQL IMAGE Datatype

DECLARE @x VARCHAR(100) = '';
DECLARE @a INT = 1

WHILE @a < 100
BEGIN
          SET @x = @Vx + 'A'
          SET @a = @a + 1
END
SET @x = @x + 'B'
SELECT @x
SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(100),CONVERT(IMAGE, @x));

Output: The Output will be

SQL VARBINARY(N) Datatype

The VARBINARY (MAX) data type is used to hold pictures, pdf, word, and other files, as well as any data.

The default length is 1 when N is not given in a data definition or variable declaration statement. When the data is likely to be very large and vary in duration, use this type.

Example: Below example demonstrates Varbinary datatype

DECLARE @a VARCHAR(MAX) 
SET @a = 'Govindaraj Kanniappan'; 
SELECT CAST(@a AS  VARBINARY(MAX));

RESULT: The output will be

SQL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IMAGE AND VARBINARY DATATYPE

There are 6 main contrast in image & varbinary in below table:-