How to test an SQL Update statement before running it?

Question

In some cases, running an UPDATE statement in production can save the day. However a borked update can be worse than the initial problem.

Short of using a test datab

Answer 1

In these cases that you want to test, it's a good idea to focus on only current column values and soon-to-be-updated column values.

Please take a look at the following code that I've written to update WHMCS prices:

# UPDATE tblinvoiceitems AS ii

SELECT                        ###  JUST
    ii.amount AS old_value,   ###  FOR
    h.amount AS new_value     ###  TESTING
FROM tblinvoiceitems AS ii    ###  PURPOSES.

JOIN tblhosting AS h ON ii.relid = h.id
JOIN tblinvoices AS i ON ii.invoiceid = i.id

WHERE ii.amount <> h.amount   ### Show only updatable rows

# SET ii.amount = h.amount

This way we clearly compare already existing values versus new values.