How to useFull-Text Search in SQL

Full-text is an advanced way to search text in table. First we will create a full-text index on column(s) we want to search then we will use MATCH AGAINST keyword to search the data.

A full-text index is a special type of index that help us for efficient searching of text-based data. By creating a full-text index on a column, we enable the database to perform fast text searches on that column.

The MATCH(your_column_name) clause indicates that we are performing a full-text search on the specified column. The AGAINST (‘your_word’) clause specifies the search term or terms to match against. In this case, it’s your_word.

When we use MATCH AGAINST for full-text search, the search term can be a single word, multiple words, or even a phrase.

Syntax:

//Create a Full-Text Index:CREATE FULLTEXT INDEX idx_your_index_name ON your_table_name(your_column_name);//Use MATCH AGAINST Syntax in SELECT statement to search for specific words:SELECT * FROM your_table_name WHERE MATCH(your_column_name) AGAINST (‘your_word’);

Example

Step 1: Create a Full-Text Index.

CREATE FULLTEXT INDEX idx_product_name ON products(product_name);

Step 2: Use MATCH AGAINST Syntax in SELECT statement to search for specific words.

SELECT * FROM products WHERE MATCH(product_name) AGAINST ('chair');

Output:

Explanation:

The query uses full-text search to retrieve records from the “products” table where the “it ” matches the word “chair.” The output includes rows with product names containing variations or forms of the specified word, providing a comprehensive search result.

The SQL SELECT WHERE field Contains Words” in SQL is used to find data with specific words in it. It helps us to find patterns in text fields. One more way to do this is by using full-text search, which searches entire blocks of text to find what we need.

In simple words, we can say SQL gives us ways to find data based on words or phrases in fields which makes it easier to get the required information.