Too Many Columns ERROR 175..

[Mike Kuhnkey]

What is the relationship between "column name length", "Number of columns" and "max
columns"?

Upon creation of a table with +1700 columns (with approximately 25...30 characters per
name) I get the "Too many columns" ERROR.
If column names are limited to 2 characters the ERROR goes away.

The table was created using utilities from MySQL CookBook via mysqlimport.
   mysqlimport --local MyData < Create_Table.sql

Is it limited by physical memory...or a buffer default in the software?