The ENUM Type size of the communications buffers. You can change the message buffer size by changing the value of the  max_allowed_packet  variable, but you must do so for both the server and your client program. For example, both  mysql  and  mysqldump  enable you to change the client-side  max_allowed_packet value. See Section 5.1.1, “Configuring the Server” , Section 4.5.1, “mysql — The MySQL Command- Line Client” , and Section 4.5.4, “mysqldump — A Database Backup Program” . You may also want to compare the packet sizes and the size of the data objects you are storing with the storage requirements, see Section 11.7, “Data Type Storage Requirements” Each  BLOB  or  TEXT  value is represented internally by a separately allocated object. This is in contrast to all other data types, for which storage is allocated once per column when the table is opened. In some cases, it may be desirable to store binary data such as media files in  BLOB  or  TEXT  columns. You may find MySQL’s string handling functions useful for working with such data. See Section 12.8, “String Functions and Operators” . For security and other reasons, it is usually preferable to do so using application code rather than giving application users the  FILE  privilege. You can discuss specifics for various languages and platforms in the MySQL Forums (http://forums.mysql.com/). Within the  mysql  client, binary strings display using hexadecimal notation, depending on the value of the  --binary-as-hex . For more information about that option, see Section 4.5.1, “mysql — The MySQL Command-Line Client” . An  ENUM  is a string object with a value chosen from a list of permitted values that are enumerated explicitly in the column specification at table creation time. See Section 11.3.1, “String Data Type Syntax”  for  ENUM  type syntax and length limits. The  ENUM  type has these advantages: •Compact data storage in situations where a column has a limited set of possible values. The strings you specify as input values are automatically encoded as numbers. See Section 11.7, “Data Type Storage Requirements”  for storage requirements for the  ENUM  type. •Readable queries and output. The numbers are translated back to the corresponding strings in query results. •If you make enumeration values that look like numbers, it is easy to mix up the literal values with their internal index numbers, as explained in Enumeration Limitations. •Using  ENUM  columns in  ORDER BY  clauses requires extra care, as explained in Enumeration Sorting. •Creating and Using ENUM Columns •Index Values for Enumeration Literals •Handling of Enumeration Literals •Empty or NULL Enumeration Values •Enumeration Sorting •Enumeration Limitations 2043 and these potential issues to consider: 11.3.5 The ENUM Type Note