SQLite3's dynamic typing
- by Bradford Larsen
SQLite3 uses dynamic typing rather than static typing, in contrast to other flavors of SQL. The SQLite website reads:
Most SQL database engines (every SQL database engine other than SQLite, as far as we know) uses static, rigid typing. With static typing, the datatype of a value is determined by its container - the particular column in which the value is stored.
SQLite uses a more general dynamic type system. In SQLite, the datatype of a value is associated with the value itself, not with its container.
It seems to me that this is exactly what you don't want, as it lets you store, for example, strings in integer columns.
The page continues:
...the dynamic typing in SQLite allows it to do things which are not possible in traditional rigidly typed databases.
I have two questions:
The use case question: What are some examples where sqlite3's dynamic typing is, in fact, beneficial?
The historical/design question: What was the motivation for implementing sqlite with dynamic typing?
