If you're specifiying a column to contain a small amount of text, which should you use - text, char, or varchar?

CHAR(30) will give you a character string 30 characters long and will pad it out with spaces if what you specify is shorter. Use this for something like part numbers, where the number should always be a certain length

VARCHAR(30) will give you a character string up to 30 characters long.  Use this for a character string that has a definite limit on its length, for example a line to go on address label that you don't want there to be any chance of running off the label.

TINYTEXT will give you a character string up to 255 characters long;  it's the one you should use if you're certain that the 255 limit will not be breached, but you don't have any specific limit set.  Example - someone's name.

The field names described above are case insensitive; in MySQL, BINARY means that your text field should be case sensitive.

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