Use LOB data types and the supporting functions for long strings whenever possible. Unlike LONG VARCHAR, LONG VARBINARY, and LONG VARGRAPHIC types, LOB data values can use LOB locators and functions such as SQLGetPostion() and SQLGetSubString() to manipulate large data values at the server.
LOB values can also be fetched directly to a file, and LOB parameter values can be read directly from a file. This saves the overhead of the application transferring data via application buffers.