Why does MySQL prefer ENUM('N','Y') over BOOL?

Question

Today I noticed that the tables of the mysql database in a default MySQL 8 installation use the type ENUM('N','Y') where I would expect them to use BOOL. For example, see the output of DESCRIBE user. The same pattern is followed elsewhere, such as the db table.

+--------------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+-----------------------+-------+
| Field                    | Type                              | Null | Key | Default               | Extra |
+--------------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+-----------------------+-------+
| Host                     | char(255)                         | NO   | PRI |                       |       |
| User                     | char(32)                          | NO   | PRI |                       |       |
| Select_priv              | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Insert_priv              | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Update_priv              | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Delete_priv              | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Create_priv              | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Drop_priv                | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Reload_priv              | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Shutdown_priv            | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Process_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| File_priv                | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Grant_priv               | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| References_priv          | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Index_priv               | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Alter_priv               | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Show_db_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Super_priv               | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Create_tmp_table_priv    | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Lock_tables_priv         | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Execute_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Repl_slave_priv          | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Repl_client_priv         | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Create_view_priv         | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Show_view_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Create_routine_priv      | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Alter_routine_priv       | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Create_user_priv         | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Event_priv               | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Trigger_priv             | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Create_tablespace_priv   | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| ssl_type                 | enum('','ANY','X509','SPECIFIED') | NO   |     |                       |       |
| ssl_cipher               | blob                              | NO   |     | NULL                  |       |
| x509_issuer              | blob                              | NO   |     | NULL                  |       |
| x509_subject             | blob                              | NO   |     | NULL                  |       |
| max_questions            | int unsigned                      | NO   |     | 0                     |       |
| max_updates              | int unsigned                      | NO   |     | 0                     |       |
| max_connections          | int unsigned                      | NO   |     | 0                     |       |
| max_user_connections     | int unsigned                      | NO   |     | 0                     |       |
| plugin                   | char(64)                          | NO   |     | caching_sha2_password |       |
| authentication_string    | text                              | YES  |     | NULL                  |       |
| password_expired         | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| password_last_changed    | timestamp                         | YES  |     | NULL                  |       |
| password_lifetime        | smallint unsigned                 | YES  |     | NULL                  |       |
| account_locked           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Create_role_priv         | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Drop_role_priv           | enum('N','Y')                     | NO   |     | N                     |       |
| Password_reuse_history   | smallint unsigned                 | YES  |     | NULL                  |       |
| Password_reuse_time      | smallint unsigned                 | YES  |     | NULL                  |       |
| Password_require_current | enum('N','Y')                     | YES  |     | NULL                  |       |
| User_attributes          | json                              | YES  |     | NULL                  |       |
+--------------------------+-----------------------------------+------+-----+-----------------------+-------+

Why have they designed the tables like this? Should I also use enums rather than bools in my own tables?

Answer 1

There's no difference internally, they both store the value as a small integer. Using ENUM makes queries use more human-friendly values Y/N instead of 1/0, without requiring you to write something like:

SELECT CASE index_priv WHEN 0 THEN 'N' ELSE 'Y' END

Answer 2

Why have they designed the tables like this?

This (with NOT NULL restriction) allows only 2 listed values. Whereas BOOLEAN is mapped to TINYINT(1) and allows another values without additional CHECK constraint. Also ENUM allows to use both string-type and integer values while assign/retrieve/compare/process (depends on expression context). Also the value output is performed in human-readable text, not encoded numeric value.

From the other side, for enum('N','Y') the value N is mapped to numeric 1 and Y to numeric 2 which can be incomfortable.