Help select data type

Hi Everyone,

I have a table in my database that stores info to process a 'Parts Rush' request, so a user can get there part expedited. I want to have a field in my table named 'Status'.

The four status' are:

Pending

Approved

Declined

Coachback

The question is should I use integers to represent the status (ie. 1 = Pending) or should I set that field to varchar and store the actual word?

I'm just trying to develop my SQL skills and what to exercise good practices. I am using SQL Server 2005 Express.

Thank You

-Sam

I recommend setting the status field to an int, and having a separate table linking the ints to the status strings - sure you'll have to join, but I believe it's a better practice than flat-out throwing a string in the main table.|||

I agree with making it an integer type over a varchar. In addition, you might want to consider making it either a TINYINT or a SMALLINT to save space if you know that you will never have 255 different specific statuses for TINYINT or 32767 different status for SMALLINT. Use of either of these datatypes will save you some space and over the long pull might slightly improve IO performance.

However, you also need to weigh some compatibility factors. The INTEGER datatype is certainly more universally available in other DBMS implementations. You may not want to use TINYINT or SMALLINT to avoid a few cross-platform issues. I think the more universal type would be the INT type.