Which MySQL data type to use for storing boolean values

Question

Since MySQL doesn\'t seem to have any \'boolean\' data type, which data type do you \'abuse\' for storing true/false information in MySQL?

Especially in the context

Answer 1

For MySQL 5.0.3 and higher, you can use BIT. The manual says:

As of MySQL 5.0.3, the BIT data type is used to store bit-field values. A type of BIT(M) enables storage of M-bit values. M can range from 1 to 64.

Otherwise, according to the MySQL manual you can use BOOL or BOOLEAN, which are at the moment aliases of tinyint(1):

Bool, Boolean: These types are synonyms for TINYINT(1). A value of zero is considered false. Non-zero values are considered true.

MySQL also states that:

We intend to implement full boolean type handling, in accordance with standard SQL, in a future MySQL release.

References: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/numeric-type-overview.html