Simple ways to note/log the last date/time when a database was updated, accessed, modified etc

Question

I made Java/JDBC code which performs simple/basic operations on a database. I want to add code which helps me to keep a track of when a particular database was accessed, updated, modified etc by this program. I am thinking of creating another database inside my DBMS where these details or logs will be stored for each database involved.
Is this the best way to do it ? Are there any other ways (preferably simple) to do this ?

EDIT-

For now, I am using MySQL. But, I also want my code to work with at least 
Oracle SQL and MS-SQL as well.

Answer 1

It is pretty standard to add a "last_modified" column to a table and then add an update trigger on the table to set it to the db current time. Then your apps don't need to worry about it. Also, a "create_time" is often used as well, populated by an insert trigger.

Update after comment:

Seems you are looking for audit logs. Some write apps where data manipulation only happens through stored procedures and not through inserts and updates. A fixed api. So you want to add an item to a table, you call the stored proc:

addItem(itemName, itemDescription)

Then the proc inserts into the item table and does what ever logging is necessary.

Another technique, if you are using some kind of framework for your jdbc access (say Spring) might be to intercept at that layer.

Answer 2

In almost all tables, I have the following columns:

• CreatedBy
• CreatedAt

These columns have default values of the current user and current time, respectively. They are populated when a row is added.

This solves only part of your problem. You can start adding triggers, but that gets complicated. Another method is to force modification access to the database through stored procedures, and then log the stored procedures. This has other advantages, in terms of controlling what users can do. But, you might want more flexibility.

A third possibility are auditing tools, that keep track of all queries being run on the database. I think most databases have a way of turning on internal auditing, although these are very specific to the database. There are also third party tools that allow you to see what has happened. Note, though, that these methods will affect performance if your database is doing high volume transactions.

For more information, you should revise your question to specify which database you are using or planning on using.