Re: Rename column but keep old name as alias

[Rick James]

Once the old name is gone, any queries mentioning it will get an error to the effect of "no such column".

By having two columns, you avoid that. However, my suggested solution may need the addition of a TRIGGER to keep the two columns in sync.

Or you can upgrade to 5.7 or MariaDB 10.1. Both have flavors of "virtual columns", which lets you have a column by another name that does not really exist; it is just an expression that evaluates to the original column.

But, that may not work if it is not writable. So, again, a RENAME may be necessary to swap the names.

Or... How about a VIEW that gives a different name for the column. This might be the best solution.