title: Storing base64 encoded data as BLOB or TEXT datatype
body: <p>We have a MySQL InnoDB table holding ~10 columns of small base64 encoded javascript files and png (&lt;2KB size) images base64 encoded as well.</p>
  
  <p>There are few inserts and a lot of reads comparatively, however the output is being cached on a Memcached instance for some minutes to avoid subsequent reads.</p>
  
  <p>As it is right now we are using <code>BLOB</code> for those columns, but I am wondering if there is an advantage in switching to <code>TEXT</code> datatype in terms of performance or snapshot backing up.</p>
  
  <p>My search digging indicates that <code>BLOB</code> and <code>TEXT</code> for my case are close to identical and since I do not know before-hand what type of data are actually going to be stored I went for <code>BLOB</code>.</p>
  
  <p>Do you have any pointers on the TEXT vs BLOB debate for this specific case?</p>