In MySQL 5.6 we have two new INFORMATION_SCHEMA tables for InnoDB that are likely going to cause confusion: INNODB_SYS_FIELDS and INNODB_SYS_COLUMNS. You may think these are likely to just be aliases of each other in order to make your life easier. However…

These are not the same thing. The INNODB_SYS_FIELDS table is all about key columns (fields) of InnoDB indexes, while INNODB_SYS_COLUMNS is about actual columns. This is even more confusing as within the MySQL source code, there is the Field set of objects that manipulate fields (columns) in a row.

Blegh. I’m glad it’s Friday.