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

Since MySQL (8.0.16) and MariaDB (10.2.1) both implemented the CHECK constraint, I would now use

bool_val TINYINT CHECK(bool_val IN(0,1))

You will only be able to store 0, 1 or NULL, as well as values which can be converted to 0 or 1 without errors like '1', 0x00, b'1' or TRUE/FALSE.

If you don't want to permit NULLs, add the NOT NULL option

bool_val TINYINT NOT NULL CHECK(bool_val IN(0,1))

Note that there is virtually no difference if you use TINYINT, TINYINT(1) or TINYINT(123).

If you want your schema to be upwards compatible, you can also use BOOL or BOOLEAN

bool_val BOOL CHECK(bool_val IN(TRUE,FALSE))

db<>fiddle demo