Choosing the right MySQL data type can significantly improve performance. 1. The numerical type should be selected according to the value range and storage space. For example, TINYINT is suitable for the status field, and BIGINT avoids waste; 2. VARCHAR in the character type is suitable for content with large length changes, and CHAR is used for fixed length fields; 3. The time type DATETIME is suitable for large-scale time points, TIMESTAMP is suitable for time zone-related time fields and needs to be automatically updated, and DATE only has dates; 4. Large fields such as TEXT and BLOB should be used with caution to avoid affecting the sorting performance. It is recommended to split them into separate tables to optimize query efficiency.
Select the right MySQL data type and the performance optimization will be half successful. Many people tend to ignore the choice of data types when designing databases and think that as long as they can be saved in it. But in fact, the right type not only saves storage space, but also significantly improves query efficiency and reduces server pressure.

The following aspects are what you should pay attention to when choosing MySQL data types.
1. Numerical type: Don’t underestimate the difference between INT and TINYINT
MySQL provides a variety of integer types, such as TINYINT, SMALLINT, INT, and BIGINT. Their differences are not just the range of values, but more importantly, the storage space.

- TINYINT occupies 1 byte, suitable for fields with limited options such as status, gender, and switches;
- INT occupies 4 bytes and is used for regular integers, such as user ID;
- If you use BIGINT to store a value that is only 0 to 100, it is a total waste of space.
For example, if the user status field (for example, 0 means disable and 1 means enabled), it is enough to use TINYINT. If the table has millions of records, this choice can save a lot of disk IO and memory overhead.
2. Character type: The choice between CHAR and VARCHAR depends on the usage scenario
Both CHAR and VARCHAR are used to store strings, but they are handled differently:

- CHAR is a fixed length, and no matter how long the actual content is, it will occupy space of the specified length;
- VARCHAR is a variable-length storage, which only occupies the length of the actual content plus 1~2 bytes of length information.
For example:
- storing "hello" with CHAR(255) will take up 255 bytes;
- The same content is stored using VARCHAR(255), which only accounts for 6 bytes (5 characters 1 byte length identification).
Therefore, if the length of your field content changes greatly, choose VARCHAR; if it is almost fixed, such as mobile phone number and ID number, choose CHAR is more appropriate.
3. Time type: DATE, DATETIME and TIMESTAMP should be clarified
Time types are often misused, especially DATETIME and TIMESTAMP.
- DATETIME is 8 bytes, with a wide storage range (1000 to 9999), suitable for recording business time points;
- TIMESTAMP is 4 bytes, dependent on time zone, and the automatic update mechanism is often used to record the creation or modification time of rows;
- DATE Only the date is saved, and it is preferred if the time part is not needed.
Common practices:
- User registration time → Use TIMESTAMP to support automatic recording;
- Activity start and end time → Use DATETIME, the time range is large;
- Date of birth → Use DATE, no time is required.
Don’t just use DATETIME, save space if you can, especially in big data scenarios.
4. Use large fields with caution: TEXT and BLOB should pay attention to performance impact
TEXT and BLOB types are suitable for storing longer content, such as article body, image binary, etc., but they also have some hidden performance problems:
- When using these types, MySQL may not be able to complete sorting or temporary table operations in memory, resulting in performance degradation;
- It is not recommended to put large fields and main tables together. You can consider splitting them into separate tables and loading them on demand.
For example, if the main text fields are put together in the article table, the query list will load large text, which will slow down. Detach it and check the main text only when viewing the details, which is more efficient.
Basically that's it. Although the data type is small, the impact of choosing the wrong one will be quite good. Reasonable choices can make your database run faster and more stable.
The above is the detailed content of Choosing the Right MySQL Data Types for Optimal Performance. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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