How to Query JSON Arrays in MySQL: Can JSON_TABLE() be used to retrieve specific values from a JSON array?

Querying JSON Arrays in MySQL: Solution with JSON_TABLE()

You can retrieve specific values from a JSON array using SQL functions like JSON_SEARCH, but this only provides the path to the desired node. To combine the path search with actual value retrieval, you can utilize the JSON_TABLE() function.

JSON_TABLE() converts a JSON document into a virtual table, allowing you to apply SQL operations like WHERE and SELECT on its elements. By specifying the columns and their paths within the array, you can easily filter and project the desired attributes. Consider the following example:

SELECT j.strength
FROM mytable,
JSON_TABLE(mycol, '$[*]'
    COLUMNS (
        race VARCHAR(10) PATH '$.Race',
        strength INT PATH '$.strength'
    )
) AS j
WHERE j.race = 'Knight'

This query would return the strength value of the knight race. However, it requires you to define the attribute names and their paths explicitly, which may not be feasible when the data structure is dynamic or undefined.

It's worth noting that using JSON_TABLE() involves converting the JSON document into a virtual table for every query, which can impact performance if the data is large. Additionally, this approach requires you to specify the attribute fields you want to search for, which limits its use for completely undefined data structures.

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