Mysql:Trim all fields in database

Question

UPDATE mytable SET mycolumn= LTRIM(RTRIM(mycolumn));

works fine on trimming columns removing trailer spaces, but how can i adjust it to trim all column

Answer 1

I was actually looking for something similar for a legacy table that's constantly updated by an outside source when I came across this question. I realize the OP was looking for a purely SQL(MySQL) answer, but in case you use Rails, you might find this tidbit that I came up with helpful:

MyModel.update_all(MyModel.columns.map(&:name).map{|x| "#{x} = TRIM(#{x})"}.join(', '))

You can also wrap it into a class method in your model

class MyModel < ActiveRecord::Base
  def self.trim_all
   update_all(columns.map(&:name).map{|x| "#{x} = TRIM(#{x})"}.join(', '))
 end
end

Then call it like this

MyModel.trim_all