change a field and port mysql table data via script ?

Question

mysql> desc oldtable;
+---------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+----------------+
| Field         | Type         | Null | Key | Default | Extra          |
+---------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+----------------+
| uid           | int(11)      | NO   | PRI | NULL    | auto_increment |
| active        | char(1)      | NO   |     | NULL    |                |
+---------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+----------------+


mysql> desc newtable;
+------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+----------------+
| Field      | Type         | Null | Key | Default | Extra          |
+------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+----------------+
| uid        | int(11)      | NO   | PRI | NULL    | auto_increment |
| active     | tinyint(1)   | NO   |     | 0       |                |
+------------+--------------+------+-----+---------+----------------+

I would like to port data (dump) from oldtable into newtable. One issue is, earlier the table used char(1) for active which stores value either 'Y' or 'N'. Now the newtable stores it as int either 1 or 0.

How can i fix this before porting data? Should I use shell script for such fix & porting ? Any sample scripts or tips :)

Answer 1

INSERT INTO newtable 
SELECT uid,IF(active='Y',1,0) as active FROM oldtable

should do the trick