[thelist] auto-increment with mysql

[Chris W. Parker]

rudy <mailto:rudy937 at rogers.com>
    on Thursday, July 17, 2003 5:01 PM said:

>> When the auto-increment column gets to it's max (let's say
>> smallint(5) unsigned), does it start back at 1 again or does it just
>> conk out?
> 
> it conks out gloriously

In that case should I not try to save as much space/overhead as possible
and just use an unsigned int? IIRC that goes to 2.5+ million correct?

That seems like plenty, but I definitely don't want this program to stop
working over a period of a year because it's hit the limit.

Also, don't YOU think it makes sense to have it start over? Is the way
mysql behaves the way most databases behave? What are the benefits to
not having start over (if any)?


Thanks,
Chris.