Define default date value in MySQL, similar to timestamp - mysql

I'm using MySQL (nobody's perfect), version 4.1 and I'm used to define some timestamp columns like that:
ALTER TABLE foo ADD creation TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW() ;
I'd like to do exactly the same thing, but for a DATE field. The reason being I don't need a TIMESTAMP precision and since no functional index exists in MySQL, I cannot access quickly to the rows with a given date (regardless of time of day). So I tried the following but it just does not work:
ALTER TABLE foo ADD creation_date DATE DEFAULT CURDATE() ;
ERROR 1067 (42000): Invalid default value for 'creation_date'
Or even
ALTER TABLE foo ADD creation_date DATE DEFAULT DATE(NOW()) ;
ERROR 1064 (42000): You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near '(now())' at line 1
Which does not work either.
Any Ideas?

In MySQL default values have to be constant.
Functions or expressions are not allowed.
The exception ist the TIMESTAMP type, for which CURRENT_TIMESTAMP is a valid non constant default value.
See 4.1 manual: Data Type Default Values

Related

Adding new Column with current time in SQL

Im trying to add a new column to my SQL table i want the data type to be TIME and the default value to be CURRENT_TIME. This is my query.
ALTER TABLE tuesday_records ADD cur_time TIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIME
And this is the error message i get.
Error
SQL query:
ALTER TABLE tuesday_records ADD cur_time TIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIME
MySQL said: Documentation
#1064 - You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MariaDB server version for the right syntax to use near 'CURRENT_TIME' at line 1
You can do what you want with generated columns:
create table t (
id int auto_increment primary key,
x int,
t timestamp default now(),
tt time generated always as (time(t))
);
That is, add a timestamp column and then extract the time.
Here is a db<>fiddle.
Although this answers your question, I'm not sure if it is the best approach to your overall problem.

MySQL error when trying to add new columns [duplicate]

This question already has an answer here:
Create table fail in mysql when using CURDATE() as default
(1 answer)
Closed 7 years ago.
Trying to insert new columns into my blog posts table as part of my sites update.
Here is the mysql code I am using:
ALTER TABLE blogposts
ADD (
postType varchar(20),
postDate datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT CURDATE(),
postTime datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT CURTIME()
);
It throws this error though when executed:
#1064 - You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near 'CURDATE(),
postTime datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT CURTIME()
)' at line 4
I assume that curdate() is the issue, but do not understand why since it is a valid mysql function.
This is not a duplicate of this as was proposed., the solution in that post did not fix my problem and instead threw this error:
#1067 - Invalid default value for 'postDate'
When using code:
ALTER TABLE blogposts
ADD (
postType varchar(20),
postDate datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
postTime datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT CURTIME()
);
So for reference, this is not a duplicate question it seems.
Default values for DATETIME columns are not available before MySQL Server 5.6.5.
In 5.6.5 and later, the value you specify as default must be CURRENT_TIMESTAMP or an equivalent expression returning a datetime value.
https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.6/en/timestamp-initialization.html
Because I want them separated out by default for easier calling from the backend.
That seems like a little bit of a frivolous motivation, when you can SELECT TIME(c1) AS teh_time, DATE(c1) AS teh_date if needed, and almost any other operation you wanted to do, like datetime math, time zone conversions or DATE_FORMAT() would require them to be recombined.

Altering Mysql column default value to CURRENT_DATE gives error?

ALTER TABLE `mysystem`.`projects`
MODIFY COLUMN `project_capture_date` DATE NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_DATE();
gives:
Error Code: 1064. You have an error in your SQL syntax;
check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server
version for the right syntax to use near 'CURRENT_DATE()'
at line 2
Current row definition:
project_capture_date, date, NO, , 0000-00-00
Just recently changed the engine to InnoDB from MyISAM.
As per the mysql document
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/data-type-defaults.html
The DEFAULT value clause in a data type specification indicates a
default value for a column. With one exception, the default value must
be a constant; it cannot be a function or an expression. This means,
for example, that you cannot set the default for a date column to be
the value of a function such as NOW() or CURRENT_DATE. The exception
is that you can specify CURRENT_TIMESTAMP as the default for a
TIMESTAMP
To solve this you may need to define the datatype as TIMESTAMP column with DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
DEMO
If you do not want TIMESTAMP then you have do while inserting by setting the column value as Now()

Cannot use functions and variables in DEFAULT constraint when creating a new database table

I'm trying to create a new database using the CREATE command. Here's the SQL:
CREATE TABLE test(
rok_utworzenia timestamp DEFAULT CURRENT_DATE
);
But it throws an error saying
'#1064 - You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near 'CURRENT_DATE )' at line 2'
It works if I change the DEFAULT constraint to a constant, but not if I try to use any function or variable. Why is that so?
Use this:
CREATE TABLE test( rok_utworzenia timestamp DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP );
From MySQL site:
The DEFAULT value clause in a data type specification indicates a
default value for a column. With one exception, the default value must
be a constant; it cannot be a function or an expression. This means,
for example, that you cannot set the default for a date column to be
the value of a function such as NOW() or CURRENT_DATE. The exception
is that you can specify CURRENT_TIMESTAMP as the default for a
TIMESTAMP column.
Try this CURRENT_TIMESTAMP:
CREATE TABLE test( rok_utworzenia timestamp DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP );

mySQL alter table on update, current timestamp

alter table `quote`
modify column `timestamp`
DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
NOT NULL
What's wrong with the above mysql query?
I am trying to change my timestamp column to default and update with the current timestamp.
#1064 - You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near 'DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP NOT NULL' at line 1
After MODIFY COLUMN col_name the syntax requires a column_definition which in turn requires a type. Add the current type of this column (e.g. DATETIME) before DEFAULT to resolve the syntax error.
This is not so much an answer as it is a tip. In MySQL workbench 6.3 community build, if you want to modify the column using the table edit screen, make certain the "Data Type:" for your timestamp column is for sure set to TIMESTAMP and then make ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP the default value (on my screen, it is just below the "Data Type:").