Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 8.1 2005Q2 Update 2 Developer's Guide

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### BLOB Support

Binary Large Object (BLOB) is a data type used to store values that do not correspond to other types such as numbers, strings, or dates. Java fields whose types implement `java.io.Serializable` or are represented as `byte[]` can be stored as BLOBs.

If a CMP field is defined as `Serializable`, it is serialized into a `byte[]` before being stored in the database. Similarly, the value fetched from the database is deserialized. However, if a CMP field is defined as `byte[]`, it is stored directly instead of being serialized and deserialized when stored and fetched, respectively.

To enable BLOB support in the Application Server environment, define a CMP field of type `byte[]` or a user-defined type that implements the `java.io.Serializable` interface. If you map the CMP bean to an existing database schema, map the field to a column of type BLOB.

To use BLOB or CLOB data types larger than 4 KB for CMP using the Inet Oraxo JDBC Driver for Oracle 8.1.7 and 9.x Databases, you must set the `streamstolob` property value to `true`.

For a list of the JDBC drivers currently supported by the Application Server, see the Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 8.1 2005Q2 Update 2 Release Notes. For configurations of supported and other drivers, see Configurations for Specific JDBC Drivers.

For automatic mapping, you might need to change the default BLOB column length for the generated schema using the `schema-generator-properties` element in `sun-ejb-jar.xml`. See your database vendor documentation to determine whether you need to specify the length. For example:

    <schema-generator-properties>
       <property>
          <name>Employee.voiceGreeting.jdbc-type</name>
          <value>BLOB</value>
       </property>
       <property>
          <name>Employee.voiceGreeting.jdbc-maximum-length</name>
          <value>10240</value>
       </property>
       ...
    </schema-generator-properties>

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