I see you found some DB code for a different platform. Most of your
questions are based on the fact that these are NOT MySQL commands (or
scripts) but SQL statements phrased for a different system. If you know
what system it is designed for (Oracle, DB2. ??? ) you should be able to
read their docs, understand their commands and translate this script into
something MySQL-compatible.
Here are my best guesses (not being 100% certain precisely which DB system
it's written for)
David Blomstrom <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote on 12/25/2004 06:32:12
PM:
> I have some questions about some instructions for
> recreating tables I'm trying to follow:
>
> 1. This first table is the simplest. The only thing I
> don't understand is "serial." I created char and date
> columns easily enough, but I don't see "serial" listed
> in phpMyAdmin.
"Serial" is *not* a MySQL data type, that's why it isn't listed. I would
suspect that you could use "int auto_increment" instead.
<snip>
> 2. In the table below, why do they designate two
> numerals for the second field, when it's varchar? How
> do you enter 80,5 without getting an error?
Again, I refer you to the documentation for the DB system this command was
written for. This is not a MySQL convention. I suspect that you could use
"VARCHAR(80)" as a MySQL equivalent.
<snip>
> 3. I think I've figured out that the unique key above
> refers to three combined fields - tsn, vernacular_name
> and language. So how do I create a unique triple-field
> key?
UNIQUE (field1, field2, field3)
read:
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/CREATE_TABLE.html
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/CREATE_INDEX.html
>
> 4. Constraint refers to a foreign key, right? If so,
> then I ought to be able to leave this blank for now
> and add it later, right?
No, "constraint" does not refer to only foreign keys. A constraint is
anything that limits what data is allowed into your table. the phrase "NOT
NULL" is one kind of constraint, so are primary, unique, and foreign keys,
among others.
read:
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/Constraints.html
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/ALTER_TABLE.html
> 5. In the example below, what do "row size" and "index
> size" mean? How do I designate them?
> { TABLE "itis".change_operations row size = 12 number
> of columns = 3 index size = 42
The most "simple" answer is: You don't need to designate those values for
MySQL. Each MySQL storage engine will compute those values for you.
> Finally, am I correct that the text below is designed
> to automatically create all my tables? I haven't been
> able to make it work yet, but that's my
> interpretation.
The "text below" (snipped) may work on another DB system but not on MySQL.
You will need to translate it first in order to make it MySQL-compatible.
>
> Thanks.
NP
<enormous snip>
Shawn Green
Database Administrator
Unimin Corporation - Spruce Pine
