MySQL - Creating Sequential Column names

[maL-AU]

Hey all, I've been trying to set up a small script that would create a different column every time a file is updated, kind of for a form of logging.

 

I need it to replace the number at the end of the column name with the next if said column already exists, for example:

say i try to make a column named 'column1'

ALTER TABLE `table1` ADD `column1` VARCHAR(4) NOT NULL

except column 1 already exists, so mysql_error returns "Duplicate column name 'column1'"

so it would then try

ALTER TABLE `table1` ADD `column2` VARCHAR(4) NOT NULL

and so on, until it successfully creates a column, or by doing it some otherway, but the idea would remain the same.

 

I know this is insanely inefficient but is this possible?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks.

[Buddski]

Perhaps looking up the COLUMNS already in the table, by looking through this information you will know what the next column name is.

SHOW COLUMNS FROM `table1`;

[cunoodle2]

Why can't you just add another row?  Adding another column seems extremely inefficient. 

[Pikachu2000]

Altering a table every time data changes is poor design. You're attempting to force a relational database to behave as a spreadsheet, which it is not.