How can I simulate an array variable in MySQL?

Instead of simulating an array variable, use temporary table in MySQL. The syntax is as follows −

create temporary table if not exists yourTemporaryTableName
select yourColumnName1,yourColumnName2,......N from yourTableName where condition

To understand the above syntax, let us first create a table. The query to create a table is as follows −

mysql> create table SimulateArrayDemo
   -> (
   -> Id int,
   -> FirstName varchar(100),
   -> LastName varchar(100
   -> )
   -> );
Query OK, 0 rows affected (1.25 sec)

Insert some records in the table using insert command. The query is as follows −

mysql> insert into SimulateArrayDemo values(1,'Sam','Taylor');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.10 sec)

mysql> insert into SimulateArrayDemo values(2,'Carol','Taylor');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.18 sec)

mysql> insert into SimulateArrayDemo values(3,'Bob','Smith');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.09 sec)

mysql> insert into SimulateArrayDemo values(4,'David','Taylor');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.16 sec)

mysql> insert into SimulateArrayDemo values(5,'John','Smith');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.11 sec)

mysql> insert into SimulateArrayDemo values(6,'Mike','Taylor');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.21 sec)

Display all records from the table using select statement. The query is as follows −

mysql> select *from SimulateArrayDemo;

Output

+------+-----------+----------+
| Id   | FirstName | LastName |
+------+-----------+----------+
|    1 | Sam       | Taylor   |
|    2 | Carol     | Taylor   |
|    3 | Bob       | Smith    |
|    4 | David     | Taylor   |
|    5 | John      | Smith    |
|    6 | Mike      | Taylor   |
+------+-----------+----------+
6 rows in set (0.00 sec)

The following is the query that simulates an array variable using temporary table −

mysql> create temporary table if not exists SimulationOfArray
   -> select Id,FirstName from SimulateArrayDemo where LastName='Taylor';
Query OK, 4 rows affected (0.10 sec)
Records: 4 Duplicates: 0 Warnings: 0

Display the records from temporary table. The query is as follows −

mysql> select *from SimulationOfArray;

Output

+------+-----------+
| Id   | FirstName |
+------+-----------+
|    1 | Sam       |
|    2 | Carol     |
|    4 | David     |
|    6 | Mike      |
+------+-----------+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)