How to create Custom Database Table on Plugin Activation

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How to create Custom Database Table on Plugin Activation

February 19, 2016
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You might require a custom database table to store your records originating from your custom plugin. You can utilize WordPress’ hook named “register_activation_hook” to perform any task when a plugin is activated. From this article, you will learn how to make a custom database table with some essential fields once plugin is activated.

You can utilize the following code to create another table in your database on plugin activation:

function pt_my_activation_function() {
 global $wpdb;
 
 $table_name = $wpdb->prefix . 'ptcontactform';
 
 $charset_collate = $wpdb->get_charset_collate();
 
 $sql = "CREATE TABLE $table_name (
  id mediumint(9) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
  Name varchar(255),
  Email varchar(255),
  Cellnumber varchar(255),
  City varchar(255),
  UNIQUE KEY id (id)
 ) $charset_collate;";
 
$result = $wpdb->query($sql); 
}
register_activation_hook(__FILE__,'pt_my_activation_function');

function pt_my_activation_function() {

global $wpdb;

$table_name = $wpdb->prefix . 'ptcontactform';

$charset_collate = $wpdb->get_charset_collate();

$sql = "CREATE TABLE $table_name (

id mediumint(9) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,

Name varchar(255),

Email varchar(255),

Cellnumber varchar(255),

City varchar(255),

UNIQUE KEY id (id)

) $charset_collate;";

$result = $wpdb->query($sql);

}

register_activation_hook(__FILE__,'pt_my_activation_function');

The hook will be called on activation that will further proceed to a function provided in the parameters i.e. “pt_my_activation_function”. This function defines a global variable and runs a query to create a new table in the database. $wpdb->prefix will automatically get the prefix of your database already in use. You can change the query as per your requirements.