Insert/ Update random date in MySQL

[Illiopolis]

How would I update a column with a random date in the past 2 weeks using MySQL?

For example (code doesn't actually work):

UPDATE mytable
SET col = sysdate()-rand(1,14);

[Iker]

24

down vote

accepted


You can get a random integer with this expression:


To obtain a random integer R in the range i <= R < j, use the expression FLOOR(i + RAND() * (j - i)). For example, to obtain a random integer in the range the range 7 <= R < 12, you could use the following statement:

SELECT FLOOR(7 + (RAND() * 5));

http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/...functions.html

Use that to generate a random number of days, hours or minutes (depending on the resolution) and add that number to current date. Full expression would be something like this:

SELECT NOW() - INTERVAL FLOOR(RAND() * 14) DAY;