How the JSON to MySQL Converter Works

MySQL has its own syntax quirks and best practices. This converter generates MySQL-native SQL that follows conventions and uses appropriate data types for optimal performance.

MySQL-Specific Features

• Backtick quoting for identifiers
• INT AUTO_INCREMENT for id columns
• InnoDB engine specification
• utf8mb4 character set (full Unicode support)
• Proper MySQL escape sequences

Type Mapping

MySQL types differ from PostgreSQL. The converter uses MySQL-appropriate types.

Smart VARCHAR Sizing

The converter analyzes actual string lengths and rounds up to a sensible size. A 73-character max becomes VARCHAR(100), not VARCHAR(255) wasting space or VARCHAR(73) looking arbitrary.

-- If max observed length is 73 characters:
`description` VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL

Boolean Handling

MySQL doesn't have a true BOOLEAN type. The converter uses TINYINT(1) which is the MySQL convention, with values 0 (false) and 1 (true).

INSERT INTO users (`name`, `is_active`)
VALUES ('John', 1);  -- true becomes 1

Table Configuration

Generated tables use InnoDB (for transactions and foreign keys) with utf8mb4 encoding (full Unicode including emoji).

CREATE TABLE `users` (
  ...
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8mb4 COLLATE=utf8mb4_unicode_ci;

Escape Sequences

MySQL uses backslash escaping (unlike PostgreSQL's doubled quotes). The converter handles all necessary escapes.

JSON Column Type

Nested objects and arrays use MySQL's native JSON type (available since MySQL 5.7.8). This enables JSON path queries and indexing.