mysql issue

[puccaso]

CREATE TABLE `customer` (
`customer_id` int(8) NOT NULL auto_increment,
`username` varchar(20) collate ascii_bin NOT NULL default '',
`first_name` varchar(15) collate ascii_bin NOT NULL default '',
`last_name` varchar(30) collate ascii_bin NOT NULL default '',
`DOB` date NOT NULL default '0000-00-00',
`address_line1` varchar(20) collate ascii_bin NOT NULL default '',
`adress_line2` v

im trying to get the username table to be authentic, ie
i noticed i would have a problem with username duplication

what do i do to do the table or the db to make it spit and error out if a username is used twice..?

[bobrocks]

CREATE TABLE `customer` (
`customer_id` int( NOT NULL auto_increment,
`username` varchar(20) collate ascii_bin NOT NULL default '', 

....
....

PRIMARY KEY  (`customer_id`),
  UNIQUE KEY `username_unique` (`username`)
) 

Where you would declare your key constraints at the end mark the column as unique.

[puccaso]

as the mounty in due south says

thank you kindly

[puccaso]

mmm
one question

why username_unique tho?

[Jawahir]

'username_unique' is incorrect. Use this instead: UNIQUE KEY `username` (`username`)...

[aks44]

why username_unique tho?

Every index has to be given a name. In this case, bobrocks chose to call the index "username_unique" but it could have been anything.

'username_unique' is incorrect.

Not even close to incorrect, it is perfectly valid. Try it and you'll see (as I said above, it's only the index name so it hardly matters but for ALTER TABLE statements that modify/delete that index).

[bobrocks]

What aks44 said.

I just chose the name as it was a unique key on a username column. No other reason, you can call it what ever you wish.