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From MySQL Developer Zone]
In this Developers Zone article we take an in-depth look at how the ALTER TABLE command is implemented in MySQL Cluster 5.0.
MySQL's ALTER TABLE is a powerful SQL command that allows you to modify all parts of a table definition. This includes basic operations like adding and deleting columns, but also advanced functionality, like migrating your table data between storage engines.
At the end of the article well also introduce some improvements that have made to the ALTER TABLE command in the upcoming 5.1 release.
The article continues at
http://dev.mysql.com/tech-resources/articles/mysql-cluster-50.html