title: What is the best way to represent a three-choice option in a database?
body: <p>I have got a list of objects that can be in three states only.</p>
  
  <p>Simplified example of the data:</p>
  
  <pre><code>Substance State
  H2O  solid
  H2O  fluid
  CO2  gas
  ...  ...
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Is it better to use <code>TINYINT(2)</code> or <code>ENUM</code> or anything else? Should I insert the values right as they are (VARCHAR) or use numbers? External table of values?</p>