Integer types (TINYINT, INT, BIGINT) in MySQL - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Integer Types in MySQL: TINYINT, INT, BIGINT

📖 Scenario: You are managing a small online store database. You need to create a table to store product information including product ID, stock quantity, and total sales count. Different integer types are used to save space depending on the size of the numbers.

🎯 Goal: Create a MySQL table called products with columns using TINYINT, INT, and BIGINT integer types appropriately to store product ID, stock quantity, and total sales count.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a table named products

Add a column product_id using TINYINT

Add a column stock_quantity using INT

Add a column total_sales using BIGINT

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Using appropriate integer types helps save storage space and improves database performance in real-world applications like inventory management.

💼 Career

Database developers and administrators must choose correct data types to optimize storage and ensure data integrity.

1

Create the products table with product_id column

Write a SQL statement to create a table called products with one column named product_id of type TINYINT.

MySQL

-- Create the products table with product_id column
-- Your code here

Hint

Use CREATE TABLE products (product_id TINYINT); to create the table with the product_id column.

2

Add stock_quantity column with INT type

Add a new column named stock_quantity of type INT to the products table using an ALTER TABLE statement.

MySQL

CREATE TABLE products (
    product_id TINYINT
);
-- Add stock_quantity column with INT type
-- Your code here

Hint

Use ALTER TABLE products ADD COLUMN stock_quantity INT; to add the new column.

3

Add total_sales column with BIGINT type

Add a new column named total_sales of type BIGINT to the products table using an ALTER TABLE statement.

MySQL

CREATE TABLE products (
    product_id TINYINT
);
ALTER TABLE products ADD COLUMN stock_quantity INT;
-- Add total_sales column with BIGINT type
-- Your code here

Hint

Use ALTER TABLE products ADD COLUMN total_sales BIGINT; to add the new column.

4

Complete the products table with all integer columns

Combine all previous steps into a single SQL script that creates the products table with product_id as TINYINT, stock_quantity as INT, and total_sales as BIGINT.

MySQL

-- Combine all steps into one script
-- Your code here

Hint

Define all columns inside one CREATE TABLE statement separated by commas.

Practice

1. Which MySQL integer type should you use to store a small number between 0 and 255 efficiently?

easy

A. BIGINT

B. INT

C. TINYINT

D. SMALLINT

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the range of TINYINT and compare with other types

   TINYINT can store values from 0 to 255 when unsigned, which fits small numbers efficiently. INT and BIGINT store much larger numbers but use more space. SMALLINT also uses more space unnecessarily.

2. Final Answer:

   TINYINT -> Option C

3. Quick Check:

   Small numbers (0-255) = TINYINT [OK]

Hint: Use TINYINT for numbers up to 255 to save space [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Choosing INT for small numbers wastes space
• Confusing TINYINT with SMALLINT
• Not considering unsigned range

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to declare a NOT NULL BIGINT column named user_id in MySQL?

easy

A. user_id BIGINT;

B. BIGINT user_id;

C. user_id INT BIG;

D. user_id BIGINT NOT NULL;

Solution

1. Step 1: Check correct order of declaration

   In MySQL, the column name comes first, then the data type, optionally followed by constraints like NOT NULL. Only A follows this: user_id BIGINT NOT NULL;.

2. Final Answer:

   user_id BIGINT NOT NULL; -> Option D

3. Quick Check:

   Column name + type + constraints = correct syntax [OK]

Hint: Column name first, then type, then constraints [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Putting type before column name
• Using invalid order of keywords
• Missing semicolon in some contexts

3. Given the table orders with a column order_count TINYINT UNSIGNED, what will be the result of this query?

INSERT INTO orders (order_count) VALUES (300);
SELECT order_count FROM orders;

medium

A. 300

B. Error: Out of range value

C. 0

D. 44

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand TINYINT UNSIGNED range and insert effect

   TINYINT UNSIGNED stores 0-255 only. 300 exceeds range, so INSERT throws 'Error: Out of range value' (default strict mode).

2. Final Answer:

   Error: Out of range value -> Option B

3. Quick Check:

   Value > 255 in TINYINT UNSIGNED causes error [OK]

Hint: Check value fits type range before insert [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming values wrap around silently
• Ignoring unsigned range limits
• Expecting automatic truncation without error

4. You have a column defined as INT but you want to store numbers larger than 4,294,967,295. Which change fixes the problem?

medium

A. Change the column type to BIGINT

B. Change the column type to TINYINT

C. Add UNSIGNED to the INT column

D. Use VARCHAR instead of INT

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand INT range limits and select proper type

   Signed INT max ~2.1 billion, UNSIGNED INT max 4,294,967,295. BIGINT handles much larger (up to ~9 quintillion).

2. Final Answer:

   Change the column type to BIGINT -> Option A

3. Quick Check:

   BIGINT stores bigger numbers than INT [OK]

Hint: Use BIGINT for numbers bigger than INT max [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using TINYINT which is smaller
• Adding UNSIGNED but still too small
• Switching to VARCHAR loses numeric benefits

5. You want to store user scores that can be very large, but you also want to save space when scores are small. Which MySQL integer type strategy is best?

hard

A. Use INT for most scores and BIGINT only if scores exceed INT range

B. Use TINYINT and switch to BIGINT if needed later

C. Always use BIGINT for all scores

D. Use BIGINT but compress data manually

Solution

1. Step 1: Balance storage and range needs

   TINYINT too small; always BIGINT wastes space. Use INT initially (efficient for small/medium), ALTER to BIGINT later if needed.

2. Final Answer:

   Use INT for most scores and BIGINT only if scores exceed INT range -> Option A

3. Quick Check:

   Balance size and range with INT then BIGINT [OK]

Hint: Start with INT, upgrade to BIGINT if needed [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Always using BIGINT wastes space
• Starting with TINYINT causes overflow
• Manual compression is complex and error-prone