MySQL INSERT ... OR UPDATE Explanation - php

Question

I know there are many examples of how to use this as well as links to the MySQL documentation. Unfortunately, I am still a in need of clarification on how it actually works.
For instance, The following table structure (SQL code) is one example of what I need to use the INSERT ... OR UPDATE:
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `occt_category` (
`category_id` int(11) NOT NULL,
`image` varchar(255) DEFAULT NULL,
`parent_id` int(11) NOT NULL DEFAULT '0',
`top` tinyint(1) NOT NULL,
`column` int(3) NOT NULL,
`sort_order` int(3) NOT NULL DEFAULT '0',
`status` tinyint(1) NOT NULL,
`date_added` datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
`date_modified` datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT '0000-00-00 00:00:00'
) ENGINE=MyISAM AUTO_INCREMENT=0 DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;
ALTER TABLE `occt_category` ADD PRIMARY KEY (`category_id`);
ALTER TABLE `occt_category` MODIFY `category_id` int(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT, AUTO_INCREMENT=0;
What I am attempting to insert into this mess are new categories from an API source so there are definitely duplicates.
What I am getting from the API is the following:
[
{
"categoryID": 81,
"name": "3/4 Sleeve",
"url": "3-4sleeve",
"image": "Images/Categories/81_fm.jpg"
}
]
So given the above information; Do I need to change my table structure to check for duplicates coming in from the API?
In MSSQL I would just simply do an IF EXISTS .... statement to check for duplicates. Unfortunately, this is MySQL :(.

Answer 1

If you intend to make use of the INSERT ... ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE MySQL Syntax (which is what I understand from your question, as INSERT ... OR UPDATE is not a real MySQL command), then your current table structure is fine and you will NOT have to check for duplicate records.
The way this works is that before writing any new records into your table, the MySQL DB will first check to see if there are any records that have a value in a PRIMARY or UNIQUE key-field (in your case category_id) that is the same value for the corresponding field in the incoming record, if it finds one, it will simply update that record as opposed to writing a new one.
You can read more about this syntax here.