---
title: Learning the age of a MySQL database
description: Start experimenting with generating APIs right away rather than potentially wait several days for the IT staff to provide credentials to a company database!
image: https://blog.dreamfactory.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/4-EeTnaC1S4-1024x576.jpg
---
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[Blog](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/)
[FREE 30 Minute Demo](https://www.dreamfactory.com/demo)
[AI Data Gateway](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/overview)
[Overview Why DreamFactory exists](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/overview) [Data Gov, Comp, Security Policy enforcement at the API layer](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/ai-data-governance) [Standard API Layer One contract for every backend](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/standard-api-layer) [API Gateway Functionality Routing, auth, rate limits, observability](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/api-gateway-functionality) [Deployment & Integration Self-hosted, cloud, hybrid](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/on-premise-deployment-and-integration) [Developer Productivity Auto-generated, never hand-coded](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/ai-development-accelerated) [AI App Architectures Patterns for RAG, agents, MCP](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/enterprise-ai-architectures)
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[Customer Case Studies](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies)
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#### [Healthcare HIPAA-grade APIs across EHR, claims, and labs.](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/healthcare)
#### [Financial Services Portfolios, partners, and portals on one layer.](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/financial-services)
#### [Government Modernize mainframes without re-platforming.](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/government)
#### [Manufacturing SAP, MES, and shop-floor data, governed.](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/manufacturing)
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C & SaaS
[Sf Salesforce](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/salesforce) [API REST / SOAP](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/soap-to-rest)
[See all 30+ connectors](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors)
[ Blog](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/)
# Learning the age of a MySQL database
by Jason Gilmore
 January 27, 2020
Table of contents
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
- [A Complete Guide to API Generation](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/a-complete-guide-to-api-generation)
- [10 Best API Management Tools](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/what-is-api-management-a-brief-overview-of-api-management-concepts-and-tools)
- [Creating a Microsoft SQL Server API in Less Than 5 minutes with DreamFactory](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/creating-a-microsoft-sql-server-api-in-less-than-5-minutes-with-dreamfactory)
- [Hasura vs. DreamFactory: A Comprehensive Comparison](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/hasura-vs-dreamfactory)
- [Build A Snowflake REST API in Less Than 5 Minutes](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/generate-a-snowflake-rest-api-in-less-than-5-minutes)
```
SELECT table_schema, MIN(DATE(create_time)) AS created_on
FROM information_schema.tables
WHERE table_schema = 'dreamfactory'
GROUP BY TABLE_SCHEMA Order by created_on ASC;
```
This will return the following output (via the MySQL client):
```
+--------------+------------+
| table_schema | created_on |
+--------------+------------+
| dreamfactory | 2019-11-20 |
+--------------+------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
```
Note however this is accomplished by reviewing the create\_time values for all of the tables found in that database, and ordering according to the oldest table creation timestamp. It's fair to say that first table was created in conjunction with the database creation, and therefore it can serve as a proxy for the database creation timestamp.
This is useful information for our team, because each DreamFactory hosted trial includes a dedicated MySQL database consisting of almost 4 million records loaded from the [official MySQL sample database](https://dev.mysql.com/doc/employee/en/). We provide this database so the trial user can begin experimenting with generating APIs right away rather than potentially wait several days for the IT staff to provide credentials to a company database. As you might imagine, we're keen to remove these databases after trial periods expire, because when considered in aggregate disk space can really add up!
Of course, it doesn't make sense to manually keep tabs on each trial database. To keep the environment clean, we've written a simple script that runs nightly and cleans up any expired trial databases. That shell script looks like this:
```
#!/bin/bash
DBUSER='cleaner'
DBPASS='PASSWORD'
DBS="$(mysql -u$DBUSER -p$DBPASS -e 'SELECT table_schema FROM information_schema.tables WHERE min(date(create_time)) < DATE_SUB(date(NOW()), INTERVAL 14 DAY) and
table_schema != "addressbook" and table_schema != "mysql" and table_schema != "demo" AND create_time IS NOT NULL GROUP BY table_schema')"
for db in $DBS; do
mysql -u$DBUSER -p$DBPASS -e "DROP DATABASE $db"
done
```
Note how we've taken care to ensure the mysql database isn't deleted! This database contains a great deal of crucial information your database environment, including access privileges. Therefore it is critical you don't inadvertently delete it.
Did you know you can generate a full-featured, documented, and secure [MySQL REST API](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/create-a-mysql-rest-api-in-minutes-using-dreamfactory/) in minutes using DreamFactory? Sign up for our **free 14 day hosted trial** to learn how! Our guided tour will show you how to create an API using an example MySQL database provided to you as part of the trial!
[Create a MySQL REST API Now](https://genie.dreamfactory.com/register?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=Learning%20the%20age%20of%20a%20MySQL%20database;utm_campaign=blog)
Related reading: [MySQL vs MS SQL Server – Which Reigns Supreme?](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/ms-sql-server-vs-mysql/)
TAGS: [MySQL,](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/tag/mysql-2) [MySQL](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/tag/mysql)
Jason Gilmore
Jason is the author of almost a dozen books on web development, including most recently Easy Laravel 5, and Beginning PHP and MySQL, 4th Edition. He's the co-founder of the CodeMash Conference, one of the largest software conferences in the Midwestern United States. Jason serves as a technical advisor to the boards of several technology startups. His free time is spent playing with his kids and reading.
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