The current length setting for a field should be set to the correct length
you need
for the information you plan to place into that field.
This is much as a question as to how long should a ball of string be to
reach across the room?
Answer:
it should be long enough to reach across the room!!!
If you have a 10 digit phone number field, then should you set the length to
10. That way, if you printing peoples names from the database onto a
business card, you can then reserve 10 spaces on that card (or business
form) to print the phone number out.
Last time I looked, most forms and printouts have limited room. So, because
we live in a physical world, and information we printout has physical
limitations on the amount of text we can print, then your field sizes should
reflect this.
If you have a place on a form for the persons middle initial, then you
should make that field size "one", as then not only will this prevent
problems when you view or print the persons name, but it also reduces
operator error, as then the data entry person will not put the persons nick
name, or phone number into the persons middle initial field.
So, not only does choosing the correct size for a field allow you to
restrict the size of information entered into a field, it also prevents data
entry mistakes, as then you not be entering the name of the persons city
into the middle initial field.
So, there the only correct answer here is:
The maximum length of a database field should be set to the required maximum
amount of information you require for that field.
