2.1.1.2 E021-01, CHARACTER data type (including all its spellings)
V0002:
The specification states the following:
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Subclause 6.1, "<data type>": <character string type> ::= CHARACTER [ <left paren> <character length> <right paren> ] | CHAR [ <left paren> <character length> <right paren> ] | CHARACTER VARYING <left paren> <character length> <right paren> | CHAR VARYING <left paren> <character length> <right paren> | VARCHAR <left paren> <character length> <right paren> | <character large object type>
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 and Microsoft SQL Server 2012 vary as follows:
Transact-SQL partially supports this feature. The length of the string is specified in bytes, not characters.