VARCHAR vs TEXT performance when data fits on row

Question

mysql> desc temp1;
+-------+--------------+------+-----+---------+-------+
| Field | Type         | Null | Key | Default | Extra |
+-------+--------------+------+         


        

Answer 1

With respect to storage, InnoDB will handle VARCHAR and TEXT much the same when both stored inline. However, when fetching the data from InnoDB, the server will allocate space for all VARCHAR columns before query execution. While space for TEXT columns will only be allocated if they are actually read, where DYNAMIC memory allocation takes time.

https://forums.mysql.com/read.php?24,645115,645164#msg-645164