Re: Mysql/php database performance question

char of greater size than 3 is converted to varchar anyways

Where's the pain? The trade off between char and varchar is speed vs table size. Are just trying to be as fast as possible? If the db is small, I wouldn't worry about it and do what ever way you want (i.e. what's a microsecond or two?) You could try both ways and profile it several thousand times to see if it really matters.