WordPress Snippets at WPcustoms

Alter WordPress sql tables: add a new column

This code can be used during plugin activation. It first gets the results if that mysql column exists already. If true we add a new column to wp_posts with our ALTER TABLE Query and add an Integer field named “my_custom_number”.
Don`t forget to remove the column when your plugin is deleted.


/**
 * Snippet Name: Alter WordPress sql tables: add a new column
 * Snippet URL: https://wpcustoms.net/snippets/alter-wordpress-sql-tables-add-new-column/
 */
  $row = $wpdb->get_results(  "SELECT COLUMN_NAME FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS
WHERE table_name = 'wp_posts' AND column_name = 'my_custom_number'"  );

if(empty($row)){
   $wpdb->query("ALTER TABLE wp_posts ADD my_custom_number INT(11) NOT NULL DEFAULT 1");
}