Oracle's lack of a Bit datatype for table columns

Question

Oracle does not support a bit datatype or any other type for true/false scenarios. Does one use the char(1) field instead by using a specific letter to

Answer 1

Here is an Ask Tom discussion on the topic. Gives an Oracle-centric view on the issue.

As for storage, char(1) is actually a bit (no pun intended) more efficient:

SQL> CREATE TABLE xx (c CHAR(1), n NUMBER);

Table created

SQL> insert into xx values('T', 1);

1 row inserted

SQL> select dump(c), dump(n) from xx;

DUMP(C)             DUMP(N)
------------------- -------------
Typ=96 Len=1: 84    Typ=2 Len=2: 193,2