BitMasks in MVC?

Hi,

I've just read an older article about handling bitmasks in CakePHP
(http://mark-story.com/posts/view/using-bitmasks-to-indicate-status)
and I'm wondering how to handle bitmasks in controllers and views.

Following the example I would like to ask if someone had an example
how to handle such bitmasks in controllers and views for a newbie?

With kind regards,
Daniel