Question

I am going out of my mind here … I am an SQL beginner .. but I cannot for the life of me see what is wrong with my statement :

CREATE TABLE usage 
  (id BIGINT AUTO_INCREMENT
  , use_date datetime 
  , ctn VARCHAR(255)
  , destination VARCHAR(255)
  , cost_type BIGINT
  , cost BIGINT
  , up_data bigint
  , down_data bigint
  , INDEX cost_type_idx (cost_type)
  , PRIMARY KEY(id) ) ENGINE = INNODB;

Here is the error thrown by MySQL (Version 5.5.8)

SQLSTATE[42000]: Syntax error or access violation: 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 ‘usage (id BIGINT AUTO_INCREMENT, use_date datetime, ctn VARCHAR(255), destinatio’ at line 1. Failing Query: “CREATE TABLE usage (id BIGINT AUTO_INCREMENT, use_date datetime, ctn VARCHAR(255), destination VARCHAR(255), cost_type BIGINT, cost BIGINT, up_data bigint, down_data bigint, INDEX cost_type_idx (cost_type), PRIMARY KEY(id)) ENGINE = INNODB”. Failing Query: CREATE TABLE usage (id BIGINT AUTO_INCREMENT, use_date datetime, ctn VARCHAR(255), destination VARCHAR(255), cost_type BIGINT, cost BIGINT, up_data bigint, down_data bigint, INDEX cost_type_idx (cost_type), PRIMARY KEY(id)) ENGINE = INNODB

It says near and then gives me about 30 characters !

I have tried different column names, in case I am using a keyword. I have tried different DataTypes – still no luck !

I’m sure it’s very obvious why it’s not working to someone who hasn’t been tearing their hair out for 10 minutes – someone please put me out of my misery !

Answer 1

That error appears because USAGE is a reserved word in mysql.

See: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/reserved-words.html for a list of reserved words.

Also, while it did give you a big part of the query, it’s the first part that is most important… It said near 'usage so that is usually what it had an issue with.