(mysql.info.gz) SET
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11.4.5 The `SET' Type
---------------------
A `SET' is a string object that can have zero or more values, each of
which must be chosen from a list of allowed values specified when the
table is created. `SET' column values that consist of multiple set
members are specified with members separated by commas (`,'). A
consequence of this is that `SET' member values cannot themselves
contain commas.
For example, a column specified as `SET('one', 'two') NOT NULL' can have
any of these values:
''
'one'
'two'
'one,two'
A `SET' can have a maximum of 64 different members.
Starting from MySQL 3.23.51, trailing spaces are automatically deleted
from `SET' member values when the table is created.
MySQL stores `SET' values numerically, with the low-order bit of the
stored value corresponding to the first set member. If you retrieve a
`SET' value in a numeric context, the value retrieved has bits set
corresponding to the set members that make up the column value. For
example, you can retrieve numeric values from a `SET' column like this:
mysql> SELECT SET_COL+0 FROM TBL_NAME;
If a number is stored into a `SET' column, the bits that are set in the
binary representation of the number determine the set members in the
column value. For a column specified as `SET('a','b','c','d')', the
members have the following decimal and binary values:
`SET' *Decimal *Binary Value*
*Member* Value*
`'a'' `1' `0001'
`'b'' `2' `0010'
`'c'' `4' `0100'
`'d'' `8' `1000'
If you assign a value of `9' to this column, that is `1001' in binary,
so the first and fourth `SET' value members `'a'' and `'d'' are
selected and the resulting value is `'a,d''.
For a value containing more than one `SET' element, it does not matter
what order the elements are listed in when you insert the value. It
also does not matter how many times a given element is listed in the
value. When the value is retrieved later, each element in the value
will appear once, with elements listed according to the order in which
they were specified at table creation time. If a column is specified as
`SET('a','b','c','d')', then `'a,d'', `'d,a'', and `'d,a,a,d,d'' all
will appear as `'a,d'' when retrieved.
If you set a `SET' column to an unsupported value, the value will be
ignored.
`SET' values are sorted numerically. `NULL' values sort before
non-`NULL' `SET' values.
Normally, you search for `SET' values using the `FIND_IN_SET()'
function or the `LIKE' operator:
mysql> SELECT * FROM TBL_NAME WHERE FIND_IN_SET('VALUE',SET_COL)>0;
mysql> SELECT * FROM TBL_NAME WHERE SET_COL LIKE '%VALUE%';
The first statement finds rows where SET_COL contains the VALUE set
member. The second is similar, but not the same: It finds rows where
SET_COL contains VALUE anywhere, even as a substring of another set
member.
The following statements also are legal:
mysql> SELECT * FROM TBL_NAME WHERE SET_COL & 1;
mysql> SELECT * FROM TBL_NAME WHERE SET_COL = 'VAL1,VAL2';
The first of these statements looks for values containing the first set
member. The second looks for an exact match. Be careful with
comparisons of the second type. Comparing set values to `'VAL1,VAL2''
will return different results than comparing values to `'VAL2,VAL1''.
You should specify the values in the same order they are listed in the
column definition.
If you want to determine all possible values for a `SET' column, use
`SHOW COLUMNS FROM TBL_NAME LIKE SET_COL' and parse the `SET'
definition in the second column of the output.
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