Question

Is it possible in mysql to use IN statement with varchar column

In my case

SELECT `custids` FROM user WHERE id = 1;

It returns custids column which is varchar and values are comma seperated like 1,2,3

When I run this query

SELECT * FROM `user` WHERE user.id IN(`custids`);

It is not running like I expected.

Actually I am to run query like :

SELECT * FROM `user` WHERE user.id IN(1,2,3);

But I think it is running like :

SELECT * FROM `user` WHERE user.id IN('1,2,3');

Answer 1

If you are unable to build query with 1,2,3 instead of ‘1,2,3’ you may try to use FIND_IN_SET

http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/string-functions.html#function_find-in-set

 SELECT * FROM `user` WHERE FIND_IN_SET(user.id, '1,2,3') IS NOT NULL;