pt-online-schema-change is an amazing tool for assisting in table modifications in cases where ONLINE ALTER is not an option. But if you have foreign keys, this could be an interesting and important read for you. Tables with foreign keys are always complicated, and they have to be handled with care. The use case I am […]

Table modifications are a routine task for database administrators. The blog post Using Percona Toolkit to Alter Database Tables Online: A Controlled Approach provides insights into the process of altering tables online in a controlled manner, ensuring uninterrupted access for application users and preventing application downtime. We will focus here on utilizing the powerful “pt-online-schema-change” […]

In the world of database management, ALTER TABLE operations are a crucial part of modifying database structures. MySQL, a popular database management system, offers online operations since version 5.6, providing a convenient way to perform these alterations without locking the table. However, there are caveats. In this blog, we’ll explore the process of altering VARCHAR columns online, delving into insights gained while expanding the size of such columns.

To kick start our journey, let’s consider a table definition that requires the expansion of a VARCHAR column named “_varchar” to accommodate more data. Here’s the original table definition:

DROP TABLE IF EXISTS varchar_alter;
CREATE TABLE `varchar_alter` (
  `id` INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
  `_varchar` VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL
) ENGINE=InnoDB;

We execute the initial ALTER TABLE command:

mysql> ALTER TABLE test.varchar_alter CHANGE COLUMN …