How to Correctly Delete Rows Across Multiple Tables in MySQL?

MySQL cross-table deletion: syntax error troubleshooting

In MySQL, deleting rows from multiple tables simultaneously requires special query syntax. When trying to execute the following delete query:

DELETE FROM `pets` p,
            `pets_activities` pa
      WHERE p.`order` > :order
        AND p.`pet_id` = :pet_id
        AND pa.`id` = p.`pet_id`

You may encounter the following error:

<code>Uncaught Database_Exception [ 1064 ]: You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual...</code>

This error stems from a syntax error in cross-table deletion. To solve this problem, use JOIN in DELETE statement:

DELETE p, pa
      FROM pets p
      JOIN pets_activities pa ON pa.id = p.pet_id
     WHERE p.order > :order
       AND p.pet_id = :pet_id

Alternatively, to delete only from the pets_activities table, you can use:

DELETE pa
      FROM pets_activities pa
      JOIN pets p ON pa.id = p.pet_id
 WHERE p.order > :order
   AND p.pet_id = :pet_id

By using the JOIN statement in this way, you can efficiently perform cross-table delete operations in MySQL. Keep in mind that this approach also works for single-table deletes with referential integrity.

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