> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://learnsql.gitbook.io/lernmysql/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://learnsql.gitbook.io/lernmysql/welcome-to-the-mysql-tutorial/check-constraint-does-not-work-ok.md).

# check constraint does not work? (ok)

I have the following table.

```
create table test (
   id smallint unsigned AUTO_INCREMENT,
   age tinyint not null,
   primary key(id),
   check (age<20)
);
```

The problem is that the `CHECK` constraint does not work on the age column. For example, when I insert 222 for the age field MySQL accepts it.<br>

What you need are two triggers to catch the invalid age condition

* BEFORE INSERT
* BEFORE UPDATE

```
drop table mytable; 
create table mytable ( 
    id smallint unsigned AUTO_INCREMENT, 
    age tinyint not null, 
    primary key(id) 
); 
DELIMITER $$  
CREATE TRIGGER checkage_bi BEFORE INSERT ON mytable FOR EACH ROW  
BEGIN  
    DECLARE dummy,baddata INT;  
    SET baddata = 0;  
    IF NEW.age > 20 THEN  
        SET baddata = 1;  
    END IF;  
    IF NEW.age < 1 THEN  
        SET baddata = 1;  
    END IF;  
    IF baddata = 1 THEN  
        SELECT CONCAT('Cannot Insert This Because Age ',NEW.age,' is Invalid')  
        INTO dummy FROM information_schema.tables;
    END IF;  
END; $$  
CREATE TRIGGER checkage_bu BEFORE UPDATE ON mytable FOR EACH ROW  
BEGIN  
    DECLARE dummy,baddata INT;  
    SET baddata = 0;  
    IF NEW.age > 20 THEN  
        SET baddata = 1;  
    END IF;  
    IF NEW.age < 1 THEN  
        SET baddata = 1;  
    END IF;  
    IF baddata = 1 THEN  
        SELECT CONCAT('Cannot Update This Because Age ',NEW.age,' is Invalid')  
        INTO dummy FROM information_schema.tables;
    END IF;  
END; $$  
DELIMITER ;  
insert into mytable (age) values (10);
insert into mytable (age) values (15);
insert into mytable (age) values (20);
insert into mytable (age) values (25);
insert into mytable (age) values (35);
select * from mytable;
insert into mytable (age) values (5);
select * from mytable;
```

Here is the result:

```
mysql> drop table mytable;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.03 sec)

mysql> create table mytable (
    ->     id smallint unsigned AUTO_INCREMENT,
    ->     age tinyint not null,
    ->     primary key(id)
    -> );
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.06 sec)

mysql> DELIMITER $$
mysql> CREATE TRIGGER checkage_bi BEFORE INSERT ON mytable FOR EACH ROW
    -> BEGIN
    ->     DECLARE dummy,baddata INT;
    ->     SET baddata = 0;
    ->     IF NEW.age > 20 THEN
    ->         SET baddata = 1;
    ->     END IF;
    ->     IF NEW.age < 1 THEN
    ->         SET baddata = 1;
    ->     END IF;
    ->     IF baddata = 1 THEN
    ->         SELECT CONCAT('Cannot Insert This Because Age ',NEW.age,' is Invalid')
    ->         INTO dummy FROM information_schema.tables;
    ->     END IF;
    -> END; $$
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.08 sec)

mysql> CREATE TRIGGER checkage_bu BEFORE UPDATE ON mytable FOR EACH ROW
    -> BEGIN
    ->     DECLARE dummy,baddata INT;
    ->     SET baddata = 0;
    ->     IF NEW.age > 20 THEN
    ->         SET baddata = 1;
    ->     END IF;
    ->     IF NEW.age < 1 THEN
    ->         SET baddata = 1;
    ->     END IF;
    ->     IF baddata = 1 THEN
    ->         SELECT CONCAT('Cannot Update This Because Age ',NEW.age,' is Invalid')
    ->         INTO dummy FROM information_schema.tables;
    ->     END IF;
    -> END; $$
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.07 sec)

mysql> DELIMITER ;
mysql> insert into mytable (age) values (10);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.06 sec)

mysql> insert into mytable (age) values (15);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.05 sec)

mysql> insert into mytable (age) values (20);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.04 sec)

mysql> insert into mytable (age) values (25);
ERROR 1172 (42000): Result consisted of more than one row
mysql> insert into mytable (age) values (35);
ERROR 1172 (42000): Result consisted of more than one row
mysql> select * from mytable;
+----+-----+
| id | age |
+----+-----+
|  1 |  10 |
|  2 |  15 |
|  3 |  20 |
+----+-----+
3 rows in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> insert into mytable (age) values (5);
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.07 sec)

mysql> select * from mytable;
+----+-----+
| id | age |
+----+-----+
|  1 |  10 |
|  2 |  15 |
|  3 |  20 |
|  4 |   5 |
+----+-----+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)

mysql>
```

Tha