title: SQL / WINDOWS - optimal char lengths - DOES IT MATTER
body: <p>Three little questions for the clever people of stackoverflow....</p>
  
  <p>WINDOWS:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li><p>max file name length in windows is
  255 - why is this and why not 256?</p></li>
  <li><p>why is the maximum fully qualified filename (full path) stated as 32,767
  when in reality it has to be a max of
  255/260 to avoid any errors.</p></li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>SQL:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>when creating chars or varchars fields in sql does the lengths you specify affect performance. Example: does a 256 varchar perform better than a 260 or a 4096 better than a 4000?</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>Thanks for any help given.</p>