postgresql - Which data type for latitude and longitude?

Question

I am newbie to PostgreSQL and PostGIS. I want to store latitude and longitude values in PostgreSQL 9.1.1 database table. I will calculate distance between two points, find nearer points by using this location values.

Which data type should I use for latitude and longitude?

Answer 1

You can use the data type point - combines (x,y) which can be your lat / long. Occupies 16 bytes: 2 float8 numbers internally.

Or make it two columns of type float (= float8 or double precision). 8 bytes each.
Or real (= float4) if additional precision is not needed. 4 bytes each.
Or even numeric if you need absolute precision. 2 bytes for each group of 4 digits, plus 3 - 8 bytes overhead.

Read the fine manual about numeric types and geometric types.

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The geometry and geography data types are provided by the additional module PostGIS and occupy one column in your table. Each occupies 32 bytes for a point. There is some additional overhead like an SRID in there. These types store (long/lat), not (lat/long).

Start reading the PostGIS manual here.