DB2® supports both IBM®-supplied data types (built-in data types) and user-defined data types (distinct types).
The smallest unit of data that can be manipulated in SQL is called
a value. How values are interpreted depends on the data
type of their source. The sources of values are:
Columns
Constants
Expressions
Functions
Special registers
Variables
(such as host variables, SQL variables, parameter markers, and parameters
of routines)
The following topics describes the built-in data types and distinct
types.
Figure 1 shows the built-in
data types that DB2 supports.
Figure 1. Built-in data types supported by DB2