I disagree. Most databases (and finally in MySQL 5.0.2 and up) have built in constraint checks that are very valuable. I'm not a US citizen but I strongly suspect a ZIP code containing letters makes little sense. I feel the database should not allow values not adhering to the column specification. 
mysql> drop table if exists foo;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> create table foo (i numeric(23,0) primary key);
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.01 sec)

mysql> select @@global.sql_mode;
+-------------------+
| @@global.sql_mode |
+-------------------+
|                   | 
+-------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> insert into foo values ('a');
Query OK, 1 row affected, 1 warning (0.01 sec)

mysql> set sql_mode='strict_all_tables';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> insert into foo values ('d');
ERROR 1366 (HY000): Incorrect decimal value: 'd' for column 'i' at row
+ 1
mysql>

[download]
See also: 1.8.6.2. Constraints on Invalid Data
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No matter how great and destructive your problems may seem now, remember, you've probably only seen the tip of them. [1]

In reply to Re^2: Typeless bind fails for certain large numbers with MySQL decimal by andreas1234567
in thread Typeless bind fails for certain large numbers with MySQL decimal by andreas1234567

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