title: Performance - Int vs Char(3)
body: <p>I have a table and am debating between 2 different ways to store information. It has a structure like so</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p>int id</p>
  <p>int FK_id</p>
  <p>varchar(50) info1</p>
  <p>varchar(50) info2</p>
  <p>varchar(50) info3</p>
  <p><strong>int forTable <em>or</em> char(3) forTable</strong></p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>The FK_id can be a foreign key to one of 6 tables so I need another field to determine which table it's for.</p>
  <p>I see two solutions:</p>
  <ul>
  <li>An integer that is a FK to a settings table which has its actual value.</li>
  <li>A char(3) field with the a abbreviated version of the table.</li>
  </ul>
  <p>I am wondering if anyone knows if one will be more beneficial speed wise over the other or if there will be any major problems using the char(3)</p>
  <p>Note: <em>I will be creating an indexed view on each of the 6 different values for this field. This table will contain ~30k rows and will need to be joined with much larger tables</em></p>