Renaming a mysql field

[AdamBrill]

I have a mysql field that I need to rename, the problem is that I don't know what type it currently is. I know that you can do it like this:

ALTER TABLE users CHANGE test test2 VARCHAR( 12 ) NOT NULL

But that doesn't work because the type will not always be VARCHAR(12). I tried this:

ALTER TABLE users CHANGE test test2

But it would not work without the type of the field. I may be able to do it using mysql_field_type and the like, but I'm wondering if there is an easier way. Any ideas?

[mhalloran]

just describe the table

DESCRIBE users;

[AdamBrill]

Ah, yes. Thank you for your help.

[LordShryku]

[man]mysql_field_type[/man], [man]mysql_field_len[/man], and [man]mysql_field_flags[/man] are the php defined functions.

[AdamBrill]

True enough, but they do not return the correct type results. For example, I was using a varchar(12), but it returned that I was using a string. While I might have been able to figure out what it was supposed to be by the other data, what mhalloran posted was much easier.