Returns 1 if a user-defined variable has been created or declared with a given name. Returns 0 if no such variable has been created.

Syntax

VAREXISTS( variable-name-string )

Parameters

Returns

INT

See also

• CREATE VARIABLE statement
• DECLARE statement
• IF statement

Standards and compatibility

Example

The following IF statement creates a variable with a name start_time if one is not already created or declared. The variable can then be used safely.

IF VAREXISTS( 'start_time' ) = 0 THEN
    CREATE VARIABLE start_time TIMESTAMP;
END IF;
SET start_time = current timestamp;