We have a table in Oracle 11g with a varchar2 column. We use a proprietary programming language where this column is defined as string. Maximum we can store 2000 characters (4000 bytes) in this column. Now the requirement is such that the column needs to store more than 2000 characters (in fact unlimited characters). The DBAs don't like BLOB or LONG datatypes for maintenance reasons.

The solution that I can think of is to remove this column from the original table and have a separate table for this column and then store each character in a row, in order to get unlimited characters. This tble will be joined with the original table for queries.

Is there any better solution to this problem?

UPDATE: The proprietary programming language allows to define variables of type string and blob, there is no option of CLOB. I understand the responses given, but I cannot take on the DBAs. I understand that deviating from BLOB or LONG will be developers' nightmare, but still cannot help it.