Question

Could someone advise me on proper SQL architecture for this problem:

I am creating an app that has a dynamic number of options (option 1, option 2, option 3, etc…). I want the user to be able to select one of those options which will then increment a number associated with that option. How can I achieve a dynamic table, as I obviously can’t pre-define 4 tables, for example, and have each be an option.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

It sounds like you’re looking for a table like

CREATE TABLE `options` (
    option_id INT UNSIGNED PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
    name VARCHAR(255),
    occurrences INT UNSIGNED
) ENGINE=InnoDB;

You can then run a query like:

UPDATE options SET occurrences = occurrences + 1 WHERE option_id = ____;

(Filling in the option_id based on what the visitor selected.)