mysql - what is the difference between 'alter table rename' and 'rename table'?

Question

I am using MySQL. Here's an example, I want to rename a table A to B, so what's the difference between following statement:

alter table A rename to B;

and this one:

rename table A to B;

Can anyone give a detail compare between them? Is it vary based on different engine?

Answer 1

As documented under ALTER TABLE Syntax:

For ALTER TABLE tbl_name RENAME TO new_tbl_name without any other options, MySQL simply renames any files that correspond to the table tbl_name without making a copy. (You can also use the RENAME TABLE statement to rename tables. See Section 13.1.32, “<code>RENAME TABLE Syntax”</a>.) Any privileges granted specifically for the renamed table are not migrated to the new name. They must be changed manually.

As documented under RENAME TABLE Syntax:

RENAME TABLE, unlike ALTER TABLE, can rename multiple tables within a single statement:

RENAME TABLE old_table1 TO new_table1,
             old_table2 TO new_table2,
             old_table3 TO new_table3;

[ deletia ]

RENAME TABLE does not work for TEMPORARY tables. However, you can use ALTER TABLE to rename temporary tables.

RENAME TABLE works for views, except that views cannot be renamed into a different database.

There are no other differences.