Hello. On Wed 2002-11-06 at 10:59:36 +0100, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > What about the following info in the manual p. 55? > > "Add a PRIMARY KEY or UNIQUE key to the table and use this. New in Version > 3.23.11: If the PRIMARY or UNIQUE key consists of only one column and this > is of type integer, one can also refer to it as _rowid" > > Isn't _rowid some type of internal variable? What is its exact purpose and > significance?
Well, as it has been implemented due to user request, searching the archives may help: http://lists.mysql.com/cgi-ez/ezmlm-cgi?1:mss:39298:cnfpdcnkgalicmjgekef That's a bit long, but quite comprehensive. At the bottom is a list why a _user_ may want to have ROWID. And a view postings later, MySQL AB's view: http://lists.mysql.com/cgi-ez/ezmlm-cgi?1:msn:39492:cnfpdcnkgalicmjgekef > In other words why did the designer of mySQL bother naming that > specialized column as such. My interpretation is this: Because a lot of people, coming from other database engines, are used to ROWID as the fastest access method. So from some point of view, it makes sense to assign _rowid to the fastest access method MySQL makes publically available (namely primary keys), instead of repeatedly explaining that MySQL has no such facitily and why it hasn't, which additionally requires knowledge of the internal details of MySQL. Regards, Benjamin. -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Before posting, please check: http://www.mysql.com/manual.php (the manual) http://lists.mysql.com/ (the list archive) To request this thread, e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Trouble unsubscribing? Try: http://lists.mysql.com/php/unsubscribe.php
