How to make a variable LIMIT in a query, using MYSQL

Question

I'm trying to build a query with a variable limit. As far as I know I cannot do something like select * from table limit my_variable;, but I've read on the internet about a workaround:

SET SQL_SELECT_LIMIT = variable;

I have to write this syntax before the query I want to apply the LIMIT in. This works fine if I write a SELECT query after that code line, but it does not work if I write the following code instead:

INSERT INTO table
SELECT * FROM table1;

It will insert every record of the table1 in table2, instead of inserting the quantity of records specified in the first code line I wrote in this post.

How can I accomplish this?

Answer 1

Using prepared statements to dynamically compose SQL queries.