Is the RAW type deprecated in Oracle?
deprecated, java, oracle, sql, uuid
Solution
`RAW` is fully supported and is the only way to store small amounts of binary data that will prevent Oracle from performing character set conversion.
`LONG` and `LONG RAW` are both deprecated in support of `CLOB` and `BLOB` data types.
It's hard to find documentation that says that something is not deprecated. This discussion of `RAW` and `LONG RAW` is probably the closest. It explicitly calls out the fact that `LONG RAW` should not be used but makes no similar point about `RAW`.
Problem
From what I've read, the preferred way to store a Java `UUID` in Oracle is in a `RAW(16)` column. When I suggested using this to my DBA, he commented that the `RAW` type was deprecated way back in Oracle 8i and provided this page as evidence. However, from what I see on that page, `LONG RAW` is deprecated, but not `RAW`. I've found a few places where others have raised similar questions, but have not found a definitive answer. There also seem to be numerous references to the `RAW` datatype in recent Oracle release notes which leads me to believe the type is still supported. Can anyone provide an authoritative answer on this, preferably one with proper evidence from Oracle?