Using enum to Access MySQL Databases（enummysql）

Enum is a type in a programming language that is used to define a set of named constants. It can be used to represent a finite set of options in a secure, type-safe and organized manner. When it comes to handling databases, using enum in MySQL is one of the best ways to access data securely and quickly.

MySQL’s enum data type is designed to represent specific predefined values for a given column. This allows users to accurately store data that can only be a limited set of values. For example, a gender column might use the enum type to restrict values to either “Male” or “Female.” This ensures that any data entered into this column will be correct, without having to check for non-valid values.

Consequently, when creating an enum column, we should assign each value a number. This makes it easier to retrieve data, as the values can be referenced by their corresponding numbers. Additionally, when an enum value is requested, a numerical value is returned instead of a string, making enum values simpler to work with.

To set up an enum column in MySQL, the CREATE TABLE statement is used. For example, we might create a table with a gender enum column as follows:

CREATE TABLE users ( 
    user_id int(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT, 
    username varchar(255) NOT NULL, 
    gender enum('Male', 'Female') NOT NULL, 
    PRIMARY KEY (user_id)
);

We can then insert data into the users table using the INSERT statement. For example, to insert a user with the gender ‘Male,’ we might use the following statement:

INSERT INTO users (username, gender) VALUES ('Bob07', 'Male'); 

Accessing and querying data from an enum column is easy as well. We can use the SELECT statement to retrieve values from the table. For example, to retrieve all users with the gender ‘Male,’ we might use the following query:

SELECT * FROM users WHERE gender = 'Male';

By using the enum data type, we can ensure secure and efficient storage and retrieval of data. It allows us to predefine the accepted values for a given column and use numerical values to return data quickly. As a result, using enums is a great way to access MySQL databases.