this function checks if a given column in a given database table exists. thanks to tim from shoptimax for this snippet.

OXID eShop - check if column exists

   protected function _dbColumnExist($sTable, $sColumn)
    {
        $sDbName = oxRegistry::getConfig()->getConfigParam('dbName');
        $sSql = sprintf("SELECT 1 FROM information_schema.COLUMNS WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA = '%s' AND TABLE_NAME = '%s' "
            . " AND COLUMN_NAME = '%s'",
            $sDbName, $sTable, $sColumn);
        return oxDb::getDb()->getOne($sSql);
    }