MySQL - MATCH Operator

The MySQL MATCH operator is used to search for a particular string in the specified list of columns and returns the contents of the column in case of a match.

This operator uses a full-text index to perform the search operation. A full-text index is a special type of index that allows efficient text-based searching of large datasets.

When a table is created with a full-text index, MySQL builds an index of the words contained in the specified columns. This index is then used by the MATCH operator to quickly search for strings that match the search criteria.

Syntax

Following is the syntax of MySQL Match operator −

MATCH (col1,col2,...) AGAINST (expr [search_modifier])
search_modifier:
  {
       IN NATURAL LANGUAGE MODE
     | IN NATURAL LANGUAGE MODE WITH QUERY EXPANSION
     | IN BOOLEAN MODE
     | WITH QUERY EXPANSION
  }

where,

  • (col1, col2, ...) is the list of names of the columns in which you want to conduct the search separated my commas.

  • expr is the string value representing the string to be searches as parameters.

Example

Assume we have created a table "Tutorials_table" using the CREATE statement and inserted records into it except the "Contents" column −

CREATE TABLE Tutorials_table (
   ID INT, 
   Title VARCHAR(20), 
   Contents LONGTEXT
);

Now, let us insert records into it using the INSERT statement −

INSERT INTO Tutorials_table (ID, Title) VALUES 
(1, 'Java'),
(2, 'JavaFX'),
(3, 'Coffee Script'),
(4, 'OpenCV');

Suppose we have 4 text files in the MySQL data directory i.e. C:\ProgramData\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.0\Uploads −

java.txt:

Java is a high-level programming language originally developed by Sun Microsystems and released in 1995. Java runs on a variety of platforms, such as Windows, Mac OS, and the various versions of UNIX.

Javafx.txt:

JavaFX is a Java library used to build Rich Internet Applications. The applications written using this library can run consistently across multiple platforms. The applications developed using JavaFX can run on various devices such as Desktop Computers, Mobile Phones, TVs, Tablets, etc.

coffee.txt:

CoffeeScript is a light weight language which transcompiles into JavaScript. It provides better syntax avoiding the quirky parts of JavaScript, still retaining the flexibility and beauty of the language.

opencv.txt:

OpenCV is a cross-platform library using which we can develop real-time computer vision applications. It mainly focuses on image processing, video capture and analysis including features like face detection and object detection.

Now, let's load the contents of above text file as values for the "Contents" column in the Tutorials_table −

UPDATE Tutorials_table SET Contents = LOAD_FILE('C:/ProgramData/MySQL/MySQL Server 8.0/Uploads/java.txt') WHERE ID=1;
UPDATE Tutorials_table SET Contents = LOAD_FILE('C:/ProgramData/MySQL/MySQL Server 8.0/Uploads/javafx.txt') WHERE ID=2;
UPDATE Tutorials_table SET Contents = LOAD_FILE('C:/ProgramData/MySQL/MySQL Server 8.0/Uploads/coffee.txt') WHERE ID=3;
UPDATE Tutorials_table SET Contents = LOAD_FILE('C:/ProgramData/MySQL/MySQL Server 8.0/Uploads/opencv.txt') WHERE ID=4;

You can verify the contents of the table using the following SELECT query −

SELECT * FROM Tutorials_table;

You can observe the inserted data as shown in the table obtained below −

ID Title Contents
1 Java Java is a high-level programming language originally developed by Sun Microsystems and released in 1995. Java runs on a variety of platforms, such as Windows, Mac OS, and the various versions of UNIX.
2 JavaFX JavaFX is a Java library used to build Rich Internet Applications. The applications written using this library can run consistently across multiple platforms. The applications developed using JavaFX can run on various devices such as Desktop Computers, Mobile Phones, TVs, Tablets, etc.
3 Coffee Script CoffeeScript is a light weight language which transcompiles into JavaScript. It provides better syntax avoiding the quirky parts of JavaScript, still retaining the flexibility and beauty of the language.
4 OpenCV OpenCV is a cross-platform library using which we can develop real-time computer vision applications. It mainly focuses on image processing, video capture and analysis including features like face detection and object detection.

To perform full-text searching on the "Contents" column, add a full-text index to the to the table's columns that you need to search within −

ALTER TABLE Tutorials_table ADD FULLTEXT(Contents);

Following is the output obtained −

Query OK, 0 rows affected, 1 warning (0.32 sec)
Records: 0  Duplicates: 0  Warnings: 1

Now, you can use the MATCH operator to search for a specific string, for example, 'Java', in the "Contents" column and retrieve the complete records when a match is found −

SELECT * FROM Tutorials_table 
WHERE MATCH (Contents) AGAINST ('Java');

The result produced is as shown below −

ID Title Contents
1 Java Java is a high-level programming language originally developed by Sun Microsystems and released in 1995. Java runs on a variety of platforms, such as Windows, Mac OS, and the various versions of UNIX.
2 JavaFX JavaFX is a Java library used to build Rich Internet Applications. The applications written using this library can run consistently across multiple platforms. The applications developed using JavaFX can run on various devices such as Desktop Computers, Mobile Phones, TVs, Tablets, etc.

Match operator using Wildcards

The MySQL match operator can also be used with wildcards such as (% and _) to search for specific patterns in a full text search.

Example

Assume the previously created table "Tutorials_table" and let us search for the string that starts with "JavaFX" using the following query −

SELECT * FROM Tutorials_table 
WHERE MATCH (Contents) AGAINST ('%JavaFX');

Output of the above code is as follows −

ID Title Contents
2 JavaFX JavaFX is a Java library used to build Rich Internet Applications. The applications written using this library can run consistently across multiple platforms. The applications developed using JavaFX can run on various devices such as Desktop Computers, Mobile Phones, TVs, Tablets, etc.

Match operator using REGEXP

You can also use the MATCH operator with regular expressions (REGEXP). Here we are searching for a string in Tutorials_table that contain either "HTML" or "JavaFX" in the Contents column −

SELECT * FROM Tutorials_table 
WHERE MATCH (Contents) AGAINST ('HTML|JavaFX');

After executing the above code, we get the following output −

ID Title Contents
2 JavaFX JavaFX is a Java library used to build Rich Internet Applications. The applications written using this library can run consistently across multiple platforms. The applications developed using JavaFX can run on various devices such as Desktop Computers, Mobile Phones, TVs, Tablets, etc.
mysql-match-operator.htm
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