One of the things I like the most in MySQL is the possibility to use regular expressions in the SQL queries.
A very simple example illustrating this is to select all the records from MyTable for which MyField starts with "A"
SELECT * FROM MyTable WHERE MyField REGEXP '^a';
Please take a look to the list below in order to find more information for the available options
MySQL Regular Expressions
*
Matches zero or more instances of the string preceding it
+
Matches one or more instances of the string preceding it
?
Matches zero or one instances of the string preceding it
.
Matches any single character
[xyz]
Matches any of x, y, or z (the characters within the brackets)
[A-Z]
Matches any uppercase letter
[a-z]
Matches any lowercase letter
[0-9]
Matches any digit
^
Anchors the match from the beginning
$
Anchors the match to the end
|
Separates strings in the regular expression
{n,m}
String must occur at least n times, but no more than n
{n}
String must occur exactly n times
{n,|
String must occur at least n times
