DROP TABLE IF EXISTS t1, t2, t3; CREATE TABLE t1 (a , b ) ENGINE= CHARACTER SET utf8; INSERT INTO t1 (a,b) VALUES (100,'foo'),(2, 'b'); CREATE TABLE t2 (a , b ) ENGINE= CHARACTER SET utf8; INSERT INTO t2 (a,b) VALUES (1, 'bar'); CREATE TABLE t3 (a , b ) ENGINE= CHARACTER SET utf8; DESCRIBE t1; Field Type Null Key Default Extra a int(11) YES NULL b char(8) YES NULL DESC t2 a; Field Type Null Key Default Extra a int(11) YES NULL DESCRIBE t3 '%'; Field Type Null Key Default Extra a int(11) YES NULL b char(8) YES NULL DROP TABLE t1, t2, t3;