What's the difference between DECLARE and SET using SQL (or more specifically MySQL)?
Both can set variables it seems. I have read the MySQL docs and I did not understand the difference between the two.
DECLARE
does not initialize the variable. When you declare it you declare the variable name, the type, and a default value, which could be an expression.
SET
is for initializing the variable you declared previously, and you cannot SET the variable until you DECLARE it.