Question

IP numbers can be represented as _________________

(a) both integers and a string

(b) a string  but not integers

(c) integers but not a string

(d) neither a string nor integers

The question was asked in an online quiz.

Query is from Choosing Data Types for Efficient Queries topic in chapter Query Optimization of MySQL

Answer 1

Correct choice is (a) both integers and a string

Best explanation: The IP addresses like 192.168.0.1 can be either stored as a string or a group of integers. Both of these forms would have their own benefits. For example, storing as a string would facilitate pattern matching.