15 Migrating Columns to SecureFile LOBs

Oracle recommends that you migrate your existing columns that use the LONG or LONG RAW datatype or BasicFile LOB storage to the SecureFile LOB storage. This chapter covers various techniques to help with this migration.

All forms of LONG data types (LONG, LONG RAW, LONG VARCHAR, LONG VARRAW) were deprecated in Oracle8i Release 8.1.6. For succeeding releases, the LONG data type was provided for backward compatibility with existing applications. In new applications developed with later releases, Oracle strongly recommends that you use CLOB and NCLOB data types for large amounts of character data.

Note:

All discussions in this chapter are valid for migrating the LONG datatype to CLOB or NCLOB, and the LONG RAW datatype to BLOB. Most of the text in this chapter talks just about the LONG datatype for brevity.

• Migration Considerations
  This section discusses various factors to be considered while migrating LOB data types or storage.
• Migration Methods
  This section describes various methods you can use to migrate LONG or BasicFile LOB data to SecureFile storage.
• Other Considerations While Migrating LONG Columns to LOBs
  This section describes some more considerations when migrating LONG columns to LOBs.