MySQL regexp_instr() Function

The REGEXP_INSTR() function in MySQL is used to find the position (index) of the first occurrence of a regular expression pattern within a specified string. It returns the position of the first character in the string where the regular expression pattern is found, or zero if no match is found.

The basic syntax of the REGEXP_INSTR() function is as follows:

REGEXP_INSTR(string, pattern)

• string: The string in which you want to search for the regular expression pattern.
• pattern: The regular expression pattern you want to search for in the string.

Here’s an example of how to use the REGEXP_INSTR() function:

Suppose you have a table named products with a column named product_name, and you want to find the position of the first occurrence of the word “database” in each product name:

SELECT product_name, REGEXP_INSTR(product_name, 'database') AS position
FROM products;

In this query, the REGEXP_INSTR() function is used to find the position of the first occurrence of the regular expression pattern 'database' within the product_name column. The result is returned as the position column in the result set.

Please note that the REGEXP_INSTR() function returns a numeric value representing the position of the match. If no match is found, it returns zero.

Keep in mind that regular expressions can be a powerful tool for pattern matching, but they may require some familiarity with regular expression syntax to create accurate patterns for your specific use case.