Can MySQL Replace Text Using Regular Expressions?

Replacing Text with Regular Expressions in MySQL

Question:

Can MySQL replace text via regular expressions using a function similar to the REPLACE() function? This functionality would enable searches for and replacements of specific characters or patterns.

Answer:

Yes, MySQL 8.0 and MariaDB offer the REGEXP_REPLACE() function. This function allows for the replacement of text based on a specified regular expression.

Usage:

REGEXP_REPLACE(col, regexp, replace)

• col: The column containing the text to be replaced.
• regexp: The regular expression that defines the pattern to be matched.
• replace: The replacement text.

Example:

To replace all occurrences of special characters (outside of letters, numbers, and certain punctuation) with an empty string, use the following query:

SELECT REGEXP_REPLACE(filename, '[^a-zA-Z0-9()_ .\-]', '') FROM table;

Note:

• Regular expression grouping can be used within REGEXP_REPLACE() to capture specific parts of the matched pattern.
• MySQL 5.x and earlier do not have a dedicated function like REGEXP_REPLACE().

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