How to drop a column named 'column'? I need to delete a column named "column" form a table but the standard:

mysql&gt; ALTER TABLE table_name DROP COLUMN 'column';


returns:

ERROR 1064 (42000): You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near ''column'' at line 1


I am thinking "column" is reserved word and shouldn't be used. But how do I get around to deleting it ?
You are correct to conclude that "column" is a keyword. Fortunately, you can escape the name so that, keyword or not, it is accepted:

mysql&gt; ALTER TABLE table_name DROP COLUMN `column`;


Notice the backticks around the column name. This is always the safest way to qualify MySQL object names (for example, did you realize it is possible to use a space in a column name? Not that I encourage this; but it is possible).

If you're curious to look at more craziness, take a look at my post `;`.`*`.`.` is a valid column name, which discusses the over-flexibility in object names in MySQL.