Instead of just saying 'desc <tbl-name>;' Try using information_schema.columns
mysql> desc information_schema.columns; +--------------------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+-------+ | Field | Type | Null | Key | Default | Extra | +--------------------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+-------+ | TABLE_CATALOG | varchar(512) | YES | | NULL | | | TABLE_SCHEMA | varchar(64) | NO | | | | | TABLE_NAME | varchar(64) | NO | | | | | COLUMN_NAME | varchar(64) | NO | | | | | ORDINAL_POSITION | bigint(21) | NO | | 0 | | | COLUMN_DEFAULT | varchar(64) | YES | | NULL | | | IS_NULLABLE | varchar(3) | NO | | | | | DATA_TYPE | varchar(64) | NO | | | | | CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH | bigint(21) | YES | | NULL | | | CHARACTER_OCTET_LENGTH | bigint(21) | YES | | NULL | | | NUMERIC_PRECISION | bigint(21) | YES | | NULL | | | NUMERIC_SCALE | bigint(21) | YES | | NULL | | | CHARACTER_SET_NAME | varchar(64) | YES | | NULL | | | COLLATION_NAME | varchar(64) | YES | | NULL | | | COLUMN_TYPE | longtext | NO | | | | | COLUMN_KEY | varchar(3) | NO | | | | | EXTRA | varchar(20) | NO | | | | | PRIVILEGES | varchar(80) | NO | | | | | COLUMN_COMMENT | varchar(255) | NO | | | | +--------------------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+-------+ 19 rows in set (0.00 sec) The ORDINAL_POSITION column tells you the order by which a column is listed. Try doing this: SELECT ordinal_position,column_name from information_schema.columns where table_schema = '...' and table_name = '...' order by ordinal_position; You could coerce the order to be whatever you want it to be. But, this should be a good starting for you. Have fun with it !!! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Olaf Stein" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "MySql" <mysql@lists.mysql.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 10:15:47 AM (GMT-0500) Auto-Detected Subject: Describe question Hi All, Is there a way to influence the order in which columns are returned in a describe table statement. Basically I want the same order that I get in the mysql client (Field, Type, Null, etc) in a little script I am writing, so I can use the Column headers dynamically. Thanks Olaf -- MySQL General Mailing List For list archives: http://lists.mysql.com/mysql To unsubscribe: http://lists.mysql.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] -- MySQL General Mailing List For list archives: http://lists.mysql.com/mysql To unsubscribe: http://lists.mysql.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]
