MySQL : ERROR 1215 (HY000): Cannot add foreign key constraint

Question

I have read Database system concepts, 6th edition, Silberschatz. I\'m going to implement the university database system shown in chapter 2 on OS X

Answer 1

foreign key (dept_name) references department

This syntax is not valid for MySQL. It should instead be:

foreign key (dept_name) references department(dept_name)

MySQL requires dept_name to be used twice. Once to define the foreign column, and once to define the primary column.

13.1.17.2. Using FOREIGN KEY Constraints

... [the] essential syntax for a foreign key constraint definition in a CREATE TABLE or ALTER TABLE statement looks like this:

[CONSTRAINT [symbol]] FOREIGN KEY
    [index_name] (index_col_name, ...)
    REFERENCES tbl_name (index_col_name, ...)
    [ON DELETE reference_option]
    [ON UPDATE reference_option]

reference_option:
    RESTRICT | CASCADE | SET NULL | NO ACTION