MySQL - How to increase varchar size of an existing column in a database without breaking existing data?

Question

I have a column that is currently varchar(100) and I want to make it 10000.

is it as simple as

alter table table_name set          


        

Answer 1

It's safe to increase the size of your varchar column. You won't corrupt your data.

If it helps your peace of mind, keep in mind, you can always run a database backup before altering your data structures.

By the way, correct syntax is:

ALTER TABLE table_name MODIFY col_name VARCHAR(10000)

Also, if the column previously allowed/did not allow nulls, you should add the appropriate syntax to the end of the alter table statement, after the column type.