Alter Table Statement in MySQL : How to Modify Column in Table

In this article I will show you how to add modify columns in table.

MODIFY COLUMN IN TABLE

Syntax

Follow the below syntax to modify column in the table.

ALTER TABLE table_name
  MODIFY column_name column_definition
    [ FIRST | AFTER column_name ];

Where;

• table_name : Name of the table to modify.
• new_column_name : Name of the new column to modify in the table.
• column_definition : Data type and definition of the column such as NULL or NOT NULL.
• FIRST | AFTER column_name : This is optional, it tells where in the table to create the column. If this is not mentioned by default new column will be added to the end of the table.

Example

Let’s see how to modify column in a MySQL table using the Alter Table statement.

ALTER TABLE contacts
  MODIFY last_name varchar(50) NULL;

In the above MySQL ALTER TABLE example it will modify the column called last_name to be a data type of varchar(50) and force the column to allow NULL values.