In my fictional database, I have several columns of data. In designing a PHP

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Asked: May 13, 20262026-05-13T15:53:34+00:00 2026-05-13T15:53:34+00:00

In my fictional database, I have several columns of data. In designing a PHP

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In my fictional database, I have several columns of data. In designing a PHP front-end to the script, it was necessary to allow the user to modify all attributes of a tuple if necessary.

If the end-user only ends up modifying one attribute instead of all of them, the following statement:

UPDATE foo 
   SET name='bar' location='YYZ' drink='ale' 
 where user='smithj'`

Would update all three attributes of the tuple “smithj”, even if two of the attributes are the same.

Is there a way to have SQL (MySQL, if it makes a difference) automatically filter out the redundant updates, similar to the IF EXISTS clause in CREATE TABLE IF EXISTS?

Thanks!