Hi, > I'm thinking of using the "COMMENT" of columns when > creating tables to store some metadata about the > column, for instance: valid_range of numbers, > validation regexp, etc. > > I did some tests with including this information as > a JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) string which can > then be easily decoded into an actual data structure > for the scripting language (Python in my case) being > used. The setup seems to work well. > > One shortcoming is that the maximum size of a COMMENT > is 256 characters. > > Do you have any comments about this approach? > What could possibly go very bad about relying on > this usage of the COMMENT?
Yes, in different storage engines, different stuff is returned. For example, in InnoDB, what you get returned from SHOW FULL COLUMNS is not what you stored in the "Comment" part. In short, I would say that the use of COMMENT isn't what it actually does. Martijn Tonies Database Workbench - tool for InterBase, Firebird, MySQL, NexusDB, Oracle & MS SQL Server Upscene Productions http://www.upscene.com My thoughts: http://blog.upscene.com/martijn/ Database development questions? Check the forum! http://www.databasedevelopmentforum.com -- MySQL General Mailing List For list archives: http://lists.mysql.com/mysql To unsubscribe: http://lists.mysql.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]
