MySQL in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

Name

CREATE EVENT

Synopsis

CREATE [DEFINER = {'user'@'host'|CURRENT_USER}] EVENT
[IF NOT EXISTS] event
ON SCHEDULE
AT timestamp [+ INTERVAL count interval] |
EVERY count interval
   [STARTS timestamp [+ INTERVAL count interval]]
   [ENDS timestamp [+ INTERVAL count interval]]
[ON COMPLETION [NOT] PRESERVE]
[ENABLE|DISABLE|DISABLE ON SLAVE]
[COMMENT 'comment']
DO statement

Use this statement to schedule the execution of an SQL statement at a specific time and date. Events may also be recurring. Although there are many options, the basic syntax is:

CREATE EVENT event ON SCHEDULE AT timestamp DO statement

The event name you give may be any nonreserved word and is case-insensitive. The DO clause can include any SQL statement to be executed. A stored procedure can be passed here to conveniently execute a set of SQL statements.

With the DEFINER clause, you can specify the MySQL user and host to be used by MySQL for the event. This means that the event may be created by a user with SUPER privileges but executed by another user account in which privileges are limited for security reasons. The IF NOT EXISTS clause may be given to prevent errors from being returned if the event has already been created.

For the required ON SCHEDULE AT clause, include a specific time and date in the timestamp format (yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss). The time given can be a string, a time function, or just CURRENT_TIMESTAMP. You can also specify a time relative to the timestamp given by adding a plus sign followed by the keyword ...