MySQL “CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS” -> Error 1050

Question

Using the command:

CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `test`.`t1` (
    `col` VARCHAR(16) NOT NULL
) ENGINE=MEMORY;

Running this twice in the MySQL Que

Answer 1

I have a solution to a problem that may also apply to you. My database was in a state where a DROP TABLE failed because it couldn't find the table... but a CREATE TABLE also failed because MySQL thought the table existed. (This state could easily mess with your IF NOT EXISTS clause).

I eventually found this solution:

sudo mysqladmin flush-tables

For me, without the sudo, I got the following error:

mysqladmin: refresh failed; error: 'Access denied; you need the RELOAD privilege for this operation'

(Running on OS X 10.6)