can I make a value "true"?

[ShawnK]

Is there some kind of column type or some value that I can insert into a mysql table that will automaticlly make it true/false. Like right now I have a 'set' column(named banned) that the values are "true" and "false" but if I try to check if it's true/false it doesn't work.

$userinfo = $mysql->query("SELECT * FROM $db[4]_users WHERE `id` = 'uid'", 0);

if(!$userinfo['banned'])
{
   // ...
   display error that user is banned
   // ...
}

[Skull]

would an INT field with 1 for true and 0 for false not work?

[devinemke]

for mySQL booleans, i typically use a CHAR(1) field and use "Y" or NULL.

BTW: ShawnK, you code does not work as expected because $userinfo['banned'] equals a string with a value of "false" which in PHP evalutes to boolean true. your code will work if you explicity check for the string "false".

[Drakla]

devinemke, when you say you use null, do you mean just an empty string (''), or a true null? Just asking because mysql assigns an extra byte for columns that allow null.

[devinemke]

i use NULL but you could use an empty string. both will be evaluted as false by PHP.

[Weedpacket]

Doesn't MySQL have a boolean data type?

[wilku]

MySQL has BOOL type, but it's a synonym of TINYINT(1), so it's as good as checking INT values (as Skull said).

[Drakla]

I use tinyint. The reason I'm not hot on the NULL and Y method is that if you have a char(1) column and use a query like

SELECT * FROM table WHERE NOT flagged;

Then columns with Y in will still appear, and the opposite with WHERE flagged. And you'd have to construct your query as

SELECT * FROM table WHERE flagged IS NULL;

All easy of course, but I know I'd end up doing

SELECT * FROM table WHERE flagged = 0;

And for that Y would appear.