Ever had need to do a MySQL find and replace to quickly replace some data in your database? Fear not, MySQL has a nifty little string function, REPLACE, that allows a user to find and replace instances of a search string with a substitution string. The REPLACE function performs a case-sensitive search of a field replacing all instances of the search string found with the substitution string.

The following variables are referenced in the example REPLACE function below:

• {table_name} : The table name to update.
• {field_name} : The field name to update.
• {search_string} : The search string that will be replaced when matched.
• {substitution_string} : The substitution string that will be replace the search string when a match is found.

UPDATE {table_name} SET {field_name} = REPLACE({field_name}, '{search_string}', '{substitution_string}');

For more information on the MySQL REPLACE function, or to view the MySQL 5.0 documentation on REPLACE, please visit: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/string-functions.html#function_replace