Storing a smart large object

Because a smart large object can be quite large, it is not practical to store it directly in the database table. Instead, the INSERT and UPDATE statements store the LO handle of the smart large object in the CLOB, BLOB, or opaque-type column. The data of the smart large object is in an sbspace.

1. For a new smart large object, ensure that the smart large object has an sbspace specified for its data.

   For most smart large objects, the sbspace name is the only storage characteristic that you need to specify. The smart-large-object optimizer can calculate values for all other storage characteristics. You can set particular storage characteristics to override these calculated values. However, most applications do not need to set storage characteristics at this level of detail. For more information, see Obtaining storage characteristics.

2. Create a new LO handle for the smart large object and open the smart large object.

   When you create a smart large object, you obtain an LO handle and an LO file descriptor for the new smart large object.

3. Write the smart-large-object data to the sbspace of the smart large object.

   Use the LO file descriptor to identify the smart large object whose data you want to write to the sbspace.

4. Use the INSERT or UPDATE statement to store the LO handle into the CLOB, BLOB, or opaque-type column.
   The LO handle for the smart large object identifies the location of the smart large object on disk. After you have written the data to the smart large object, provide its LO handle to the INSERT or UPDATE statement to save it in the database. The smart-large-object data remains in the sbspace.

   Important: The sbspace for the smart large object must exist before the INSERT statement executes.