Schemas on BareSQL.com

Column Types Like DATETIME and BYTEA Exist on Some SQL Engines Only

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A schema with DATETIME and JSONB columns runs on SQLite without complaint. Both types fail on at least one of the other engines.

SQLite accepts nearly any type name, so a schema that works there can still fail elsewhere. Each type in the table was used in a CREATE TABLE on all four engines.

MySQL and MariaDB on Linux Treat Table Names as Case Sensitive

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Code that creates a table as Users and later reads users works on SQLite and PostgreSQL. On MySQL or MariaDB running on Linux it fails, since users is another table that doesn’t exist, while the same code on a Mac works, which makes the bug easy to miss.

MySQL and MariaDB keep each table in files named after it, and file names on Linux are case-sensitive (lower_case_table_names = 0, the default there). On Windows and macOS the default makes names case-insensitive. SQLite and PostgreSQL ignore case in unquoted names.

MySQL Refuses a Key on a TEXT Column Without a Prefix Length

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A TEXT column as a primary key is ordinary on SQLite and PostgreSQL. MySQL and MariaDB refuse it, and MySQL refuses a plain index or unique key on TEXT as well.

SQLite and PostgreSQL index TEXT columns as they are. MySQL wants a prefix length, INDEX (x(100)), which the others reject. MariaDB 10.4 and later accept plain indexes and unique keys on TEXT columns.

MySQL Refuses a Plain DEFAULT Value on TEXT Columns

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A notes column declared as TEXT DEFAULT '' works on SQLite, PostgreSQL and MariaDB. MySQL refuses the CREATE TABLE.

MySQL 8.0.13 and later accept a default written as an expression in parentheses, DEFAULT ('a'), which the other three engines accept as well.

MySQL Refuses CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Migrations that may run twice often say CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS, and SQLite, PostgreSQL and MariaDB accept it. MySQL stops the migration with a syntax error.

MySQL accepts IF NOT EXISTS for tables and databases, and not for indexes.

MySQL Table Options Like ENGINE and CHARSET Fail on PostgreSQL and SQLite

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A MySQL schema ends its CREATE TABLE statements with options such as ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4. SQLite and PostgreSQL refuse the statement at the first option.

Dumps made with mysqldump carry these options on every table. SQLite’s own options, WITHOUT ROWID and STRICT, fail on the other three engines in the same way.

No Auto Increment Column Syntax Works on Every SQL Engine

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A schema meant for several engines needs ids that number themselves, and no single way of asking for that works on all four. SERIAL comes closest, and on SQLite it fails without a word.

AUTO_INCREMENT belongs to MySQL and MariaDB, AUTOINCREMENT to SQLite, and GENERATED BY DEFAULT AS IDENTITY to PostgreSQL. SERIAL is PostgreSQL’s as well, and MySQL and MariaDB accept it as BIGINT UNSIGNED NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT UNIQUE. SQLite accepts any type name, so SERIAL is only a name there and the column stays NULL: SQLite numbers rows for a column declared INTEGER PRIMARY KEY and nothing else.

SQLite Has No CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW lets a migration change a view in one step on PostgreSQL, MySQL and MariaDB. On SQLite the statement is a syntax error.

SQLite can only drop a view and create it again.

SQLite Stores Text in INTEGER Columns and Ignores VARCHAR Lengths

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A test suite on SQLite passes with a quantity of 'abc', or 'Germany' in a VARCHAR(2) country column. PostgreSQL, MySQL and MariaDB refuse both values, so the bug shows up in production instead.

Column types on SQLite are preferences: a value that does not fit is stored as it is, and lengths are never checked. Tests that run on SQLite then pass with data the production engine rejects. SQLite’s STRICT tables (version 3.37 and later) check types but not lengths, and the other engines do not accept the STRICT keyword.

VARCHAR Without a Length Fails on MySQL and MariaDB

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Schemas written for PostgreSQL often declare names and notes as plain VARCHAR, with no length. MySQL and MariaDB refuse that CREATE TABLE, since they want a length on every VARCHAR column.

PostgreSQL reads VARCHAR without a length as text of any length, and SQLite ignores lengths anyway.