Storing single numbers in the database

Linux RHEL4, Oracle 9.2.0.8

I have a developer who wants to define a column as CHAR(1) in an existing table. The only values this will ever hold are zero and one. I asked why he didn't define it as NUMBER(1) and the response was "Because I don't want to do the translation in my code." He believes that the column in this table will be heavily used when it gets to production. Since it's a new feature for the application, we have no way of knowing for sure how the customers will use it. They're kind of funny about deciding for themselves how they want to use the features.

Questions: Does it really matter if it's stored as NUMBER(1) or CHAR(1)? What are the ramifications, if any, of defining the column as CHAR(1)?

I personally believe that if you want to store a numerical value and ONLY a numerical value in a column, you should define the column as NUMBER.

Sandy

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