What is the best data type to store the birthdays of the US Presidents, starting with George Washington's birthday of February 22, 1732?
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DATETIME
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INT
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SMALLDATETIME
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VARCHAR
Washington's birthday (1732) is before the minimum DATETIME value (January 1, 1753). INT can store dates as integers (e.g., YYYYMMDD format) covering any historical date. SMALLDATETIME has the same 1753 limitation. VARCHAR would work but is not ideal for date calculations or sorting.
To answer this question, we need to consider the type of data that will be stored and the requirements for storing the birthdays of the US Presidents.
Option A) DATETIME - This option is incorrect because the DATETIME data type is used to store date and time values, not just dates. Since we only need to store the birthdays of the US Presidents, which do not include specific times, this data type is not necessary.
Option B) INT - This option is correct because it is a suitable data type to store the birthdays of the US Presidents. The INT data type can store whole numbers, which can be used to represent dates in a specific format (e.g., YYYYMMDD). In this case, we can store the birthdays as integers in the format 17320222 for George Washington's birthday.
Option C) SMALLDATETIME - This option is incorrect because the SMALLDATETIME data type is also used to store date and time values, similar to DATETIME. Since we only need to store the birthdays of the US Presidents without specific times, this data type is not necessary.
Option D) VARCHAR - This option is incorrect because the VARCHAR data type is used to store alphanumeric characters, such as text strings. While it is possible to store the birthdays as strings in the format 'February 22, 1732', using the INT data type would be more efficient and appropriate.
The correct answer is B) INT. This option is correct because it is a suitable data type to store the birthdays of the US Presidents as whole numbers, representing dates in a specific format.