duglus
answered May 14 '23 00:00
In MySQL, the delimiter is used to specify the end of a statement or block of code . By default, the delimiter is a semicolon (;) , which is used to indicate the end of a SQL statement. However, sometimes SQL statements may contain semicolons within them, such as in a stored procedure or function. In such cases, the use of a semicolon as a delimiter can cause syntax errors and make it difficult to write and execute complex SQL statements.
How to change delimiter in MySQL?
To solve this problem, MySQL provides the ability to change the delimiter to a different character temporarily while defining stored procedures or functions. This allows you to use semicolons within the stored procedure or function without causing syntax errors. After the stored procedure or function is defined, the delimiter is set back to the default semicolon.
Here's an example of how to use a delimiter in MySQL to define a stored procedure that contains semicolons:
DELIMITER $$
CREATE PROCEDURE myProcedure()
BEGIN
SELECT * FROM myTable WHERE myColumn = 'value';
UPDATE myTable SET myColumn = 'newValue' WHERE myColumn = 'value';
END $$
DELIMITER ;
In this example, the delimiter is set to "$$" using the DELIMITER command. This allows us to use semicolons within the stored procedure without causing syntax errors. After the stored procedure is defined, the delimiter is set back to the default semicolon using DELIMITER ;.
Overall, the use of a delimiter in MySQL allows you to write and execute complex SQL statements without encountering syntax errors caused by the use of semicolons within stored procedures or functions.