mysql - Execute INSERT if table is empty?

Question

Is there a way to do an insert under a count condition, something like:

INSERT INTO my_table (colname) VALUES('foo') IF COUNT(my_table) < 1

Basically I want to insert a single default record if the table is currently empty. I'm using mysql.

Answer 1

Use SELECT instead of VALUES to be able to expand the query with a WHERE clause.

EXISTS is a better & faster test than COUNT

INSERT INTO my_table (colname)
SELECT 'foo'
WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT * FROM my_table)