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Topic #181

MySQL Update

Updating records from Python changes stored data with application logic. WHERE clauses protect the rows you did not mean to touch.


Update Table

You can update existing records in a table by using the "UPDATE" statement:

Example

import mysql.connector

mydb = mysql.connector.connect(
  host="localhost",

user="yourusername",
  password="yourpassword",
  database="mydatabase"
)

mycursor =
mydb.cursor()

sql = "UPDATE customers SET address = 'Canyon 123'
WHERE address = 'Valley 345'"

mycursor.execute(sql)

mydb.commit()

print(mycursor.rowcount, "record(s) affected")

Note: Important!: Notice the statement: mydb.commit(). It is required to make the changes, otherwise no changes are made to the table.

Note: Notice the WHERE clause in the UPDATE syntax: The WHERE clause specifies which record or records that should be updated. If you omit the WHERE clause, all records will be updated!


Prevent SQL Injection

It is considered a good practice to escape the values of any query, also in update statements.

This is to prevent SQL injections, which is a common web hacking technique to destroy or misuse your database.

The mysql.connector module uses the placeholder %s to escape values in the update statement:

Example

import mysql.connector

mydb = mysql.connector.connect(
  host="localhost",

user="yourusername",
  password="yourpassword",
  database="mydatabase"
)

mycursor = mydb.cursor()

sql = "UPDATE customers SET address = %s
WHERE address = %s"
val = ("Valley 345", "Canyon 123")

mycursor.execute(sql,
val)

mydb.commit()

print(mycursor.rowcount, "record(s)
affected")

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MySQL Update – FAQs

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