mysql timestamp column

Question

Is it possible to define a timestamp column in a MySQL table that will automatically be updated every time a field in the same row is modified? Ideally this column should initially be set to the time a row was inserted.

Cheers, Don

Answer 1

You can use the timestamp column as other posters mentioned. Here is the SQL you can use to add the column in:

ALTER TABLE `table1` ADD `lastUpdated` TIMESTAMP ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ; 

This adds a column called 'lastUpdated' with a default value of the current date/time. When that record is updated (lets say 5 minutes later) that timestamp will automatically update to the current time.