Question

How can I increment an int in a cell of a MySQL database? I know that auto-increment is no use because I never want to add a new row, just update an existing one. I’m currently using this (POST var used for clarify, is verified in the real code):

$columnToUpdate = 'type'.$_POST['voteid'];
$query = "UPDATE myTable $columnToUpdate = $columnToUpdate+1 WHERE id=1;";
if(!mysql_query($query)) {
    echo json_encode(array('success' => false, 'message' => 'Update failed: '.mysql_error()));
    exit;
}

In the database I have 6 fields, id, type1, type2, type3, type4, type5, and a single row with id set to 1. The intention is to recieve a number (1-5), and build a reference to the correct column before updating the field. That results in Update failed: 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 '=type4+1 WHERE id=1' at line 1, so I guess it’s not getting the field value out properly before it increments.

Once this is working I’m also going to need to decrement a field in the same way, unless its value is 0. So for bonus points, can I do all this in one query or would it be better to split it up?

Answer 1

I think you’ve missed the keyword ‘SET’ from your query – try

$query = "UPDATE myTable SET $columnToUpdate = $columnToUpdate+1 WHERE id=1;";

Edit:

To do the “decrement unless it’s zero” you could use something like:

UPDATE myTable SET $columnToUpdate = 
CASE $columnToUpdate 
    WHEN 0 THEN 0
    ELSE $columnToUpdate - 1
END CASE
WHERE id=1;`